The Tribune

By KHRISNA VIRGIL

Tribune Staff Reporter

kvirgil@tribunemedia.net

AFTER promising tougher crime fighting measures five months ago, Prime Minister Perry Christie’s 2016/2017 Budget Communication revealed very little details of his administration’s plan to arrest violent crime.

His silence on the issue comes in the wake of 508 recorded homicides in the Bahamas since the 2012 general election, according to The Tribune’s records, with 11 months still remaining in this administration’s current term.

Last December, Mr Christie said his administration planned to introduce “tougher measures” to combat crime in 2016, pointing out that it was a challenge of the highest priority.

The party campaigned on the platform that it had the solution to lower violent crime while the Ingraham administration did not. However, since coming to office, the Christie administration has been grappling with the same issue.

When 2016 rolled in, Mr Christie passed off the mammoth task of tackling crime to Royal

Bahamas Police Force Commissioner Ellison Greenslade, saying this rested with the police chief.

Despite this, when Mr Greenslade revealed the force’s 2016 policing plan, it neglected to reveal the promised tougher crime fighting measures.

The 2016 policing plan involves many of the same initiatives as outlined in 2015. A few new ideas included plans to acquire a helicopter for rapid response to serious crime scenes, fleeing felons and for the patrol of hot spots.

The document also revealed plans to begin construction on a forensic science facility and acquiring unmanned aerial vehicles. Among the old ideas are plans to continue saturation patrols and extend the use of the existing closed circuit television programme (CCTV).

Crime plan

Nonetheless, Mr Christie insisted on Wednesday, during his lengthy budget communication, that citizen security was of great importance to the government.

He touted the success of Swift Justice and said the government expended significant sums of money to acquire and install cutting edge technologies in the fight against crime.

He said his administration has also spent $4.5m to install 243 cameras mainly in the downtown area and in crime hot spots of New Providence.

“With all the upgrades and enhancements, further investments to maintain safety and security were necessary,” he said. “There is now the ability to text to 919, and send videos directly to the Police Control Room. Currently, the systems are segmented and are standalones. The new system will integrate the automatic vehicle location (AVL), dispatch and 919 platforms for use and operation from a single point.

“The government has also invested $4.5 million to install 243 cameras, mainly in the downtown area and hot crime spots of New Providence,” Mr Christie said on Wednesday. “All video feeds are sent either wirelessly or via fibre optics to a secure server located at the police headquarters. The camera feeds are integrated with other incoming data sources, such as behavioural analytics systems and computer-aided dispatch (CAD), creating a common real-time operational dashboard.

“This offers the ability to easily integrate with third-party data and camera systems (public or private). These additional systems can enhance law enforcement’s visibility into key areas of the city without large investments in additional assets. The base platform can be expanded and has the ability to add multiple smart function items, including facial recognition, gun shot detection/location and licence plate recognition.”

He continued: “There has been much success thus far with the CCTV system. The government is currently in discussions to expand the system to over 1,000 cameras, which is expected to cover essentially all the exit/entry points in Nassau.

“To further protect the borders of the Bahamas and enhance national security, the government is actively pursuing the use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) with high-resolution imagery. This technology is intended to improve upon the interdiction of drug traffickers, poachers, smugglers, human traffickers and illegal migrants. It will also improve upon the search and rescue missions.

“As well, a state of the art police and fire station is well on its way to completion in Freeport, Grand Bahama. Expanded and newly refurbished facilities are being made available for a police station in Lower Deadman’s Cay, Long Island.”

Mr Christie said an agreement has also been reached with the New Providence Development Company Ltd for the purchase, by the government, of properties at a cost of $2.1million to establish a police station in southwestern New Providence.

In addition, he said the number of police reservist officers has been increased by 200 and the maximum number of hours worked by them, has been increased from 150 to 200 hours per month.

From May 7, 2012 - when the PLP won the election - to December 31, 2012, there were 70 recorded murders. In 2013, police recorded 119 murders; in 2014 and 2015, police recorded 123 and a record 146 murders respectively.

So far in 2016, the country homicide count is 50, according to The Tribune’s records.

Prior to the 2012 election campaign, the PLP unveiled billboards drawing attention to the FNM’s then record of 490 plus murders during their five years in office. The PLP surpassed that figure with more than a year to go to the next election.