The Tribune

By NICO SCAVELLA

Tribune Staff Reporter

nscavella@tribunemedia.net

DAYS after Prime Minister Perry Christie said he was walking on “eggshells” over crime due to a “division” between the country’s law enforcement agencies, Police Commissioner Ellison Greenslade said more emphasis needs to be placed on what “contributions” Bahamians are making to fight against crime instead of “pointing fingers.”

His comments came after he was asked for reaction to Mr Christie’s comments. He shied away from responding directly to the prime minister, however, he did say the country makes a “mistake” by singling out law enforcement – particularly the Royal Bahamas Police Force (RBPF) – in discussions on crime prevention.

He added: “These officers and their families sacrifice constantly. I cannot find it in me to ever speak a disparaging word about a police officer or any other law enforcement officer. We are doing everything we are paid to do. My policing plan is as clear as day. If you pick up my policing plan and you read it, you will find clear indications of what it is that we’re doing. And I am consistent with every single thing that I should be doing as commissioner.

“I’ve been totally respectful, I will continue to be respectful. There’s no other way. And I’m never going to discourage the Bahamian public or cause anyone to misstep by demonstrating rudeness or disrespect for anyone in authority over me. That is never going to happen.”

On the issue of crime prevention, the commissioner said he is not God, nor can he see evil in men’s hearts.

“And I cannot determine when a man purposes in his heart – a man or a woman – to do something that only Almighty God would know. I am not a magician, I cannot do it. No police chief that I know in the world is able to do it. But all of us can join hands and hearts and tell our children to put down the guns, stop using illegal drugs, get them some medical help if you need to and encourage them to desist from a life of crime.

“That’s the conversation we should be having. We make a mistake when we discuss the police department. Any of us, you as a public, make a mistake. The discussion has to be about your contributions like my contributions. I can account for my children. Can you account for your children? Let’s make our contributions and stop pointing fingers.”

Last week, Mr Christie said he was “convinced” there is a “great deal more that we can or should be doing to fight this common menace” of crime.

He spoke at the fifth annual United States Caribbean High-Level Citizen Security Dialogue (HLCSD) last Thursday at Atlantis.

“Philosophically my terms of reference as an elected representative is to solve the problem,” Mr Christie said. “The egg shells are a reference to the division that exists between the military establishment and the police establishment. And to the Bahamian people, to the people of the region; they would like to understand the extent to which governments appear paralysed in the face of this continuing slaughter of our future.”

Referring to the influx of guns and the crimes subsequently committed with them, Mr Christie said: “What we have captured are the chilling continuation of killings… The outcome today is important so that it is not just another convocation where ideas are shared, the limitations of what we can do together is pronounced as the killings continue. And that is why I departed from my speech, to tell you how I feel. And to tell you the enormous frustration that bureaucratic inertia produces.”

When pressed on Mr Christie’s comments yesterday, Commissioner Greenslade would only say: “The commissioner wants to continue to do police work. I don’t want to engage in any discussion that will distract me or cause any of the officers to be disrespectful or to lose heart. We want to remain focused, we want to continue to show you respect, we want to continue to show you care and concern, and we’re going to continue to work hard.”

Before the 2012 general election the Christie administration campaigned on the promise that it had the required solutions to end the scourge of crime.

However, murder rates in the country continue to rise year after year.