The Tribune

By NICO SCAVELLA

Tribune Staff Reporter

nscavella@tribunemedia.net

FORMER Assistant Commissioner of Police Paul Thompson yesterday dismissed Prime Minister Perry Christie’s recent assertion that the capital’s crime situation has become like the “Wild West,” insisting that innocent people are “not the targets” in what he said is a “war” between various gang factions throughout New Providence.

Mr Thompson, in an interview with The Tribune, said New Providence is facing “a problem with gangs shooting up each other.” He acknowledged that while innocent bystanders “might get in the way” of the crossfire, and that the occasional person “might be killed” if resisting an armed robber, the current situation “is not like open season where people just driving around shooting.”

Mr Thompson, though, agreed with Mr Christie’s suggestions that the Royal Bahamas Police Force (RBPF) could be “more aggressive” in tackling crime.

Nonetheless, he called for “corporate Bahamas,” specifically the Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Employer’s Confederation (BCCEC) to lend its hand in establishing a cash reward system for gun smuggling tips, charging that “we need money to fight crime, not talk.”

Mr Thompson was responding to statements made by both Mr Christie and Commissioner of Police Ellison Greenslade on Monday following the country recording 13 homicides in 13 days. Up to press time, seven people had been killed since Friday, with the country’s homicide count standing at 27 for the year, according to The Tribune’s records.

While Commissioner Greenslade maintained that the Bahamas is not in a state of crisis and that the average Bahamian can continue to “go about their day as normal” without the fear of being attacked, Mr Christie likened the Bahamas’ crime situation to the “Wild West” and said it was a “madness” that must solicit a “major” and “continuous” effort from his administration in a bid to end “this senseless set of killings.”

“I identify with the commissioner of police,” Mr Thompson said when contacted. “We have a problem with gangs shooting up each other. I don’t consider that a crisis. I feel that the police are gradually getting on top of it. I think they could be more aggressive. That’s one thing I agree with Mr Christie, they could be more aggressive.

“And they’ve got to realise that this isn’t ordinary policing; they’re now in a war with these gang members, and they’ve got to be more aggressive with them. By that I mean stopping on the streets searching, searching houses, holding for the 48 hours questioning and so on.

“But I am happy with the work they’re doing. And I think people should give them more support instead of criticising them.”

Mr Thompson also suggested that despite the recent wave of murders and the past bloody weekend, New Providence is still a safe place to traverse, as he echoed Commissioner Greenslade’s assertions that “the country is not at a stage where the average citizen has to be concerned about being attacked.”

“I for one, I feel safe,” Mr Thompson said. “And I know a lot of people like me feel safe, because we realise what is happening. We are not the targets. We may get in the way, plus if there is a robbery and you resist, you might be killed, but my feeling is the police are aware of the people. We know it’s a gang war (going) on. It is not like open season where people just driving around shooting.

“They shooting at people that are victims, proposed victims. And some of these victims know why they are victims. They steal the man drugs, or they take the drug man woman, or they’re involved in gangs. If you’re involved in a gang now you’re automatically a victim. Once your gang is at war with another gang, you automatically become a possible victim.

“So this thing with the Wild West I don’t agree with that. We have a nice country, we’ve got to do something, and I believe that rewards will help to get guns off the streets.

“...So what we have to do is to work on the guns, getting the guns. And to do that, I think we need more than the police. We need the Chamber of Commerce and corporate Bahamas to put money in a pool where you can pay rewards for information, and not only here, but in the United States, the Florida area, in Haiti, in Jamaica.”

The former ACP also echoed the commissioner’s admonitions on Monday for Bahamians not to “point the finger at the police in times of crisis” while refusing to “manage their homes” or assist the police in nabbing wanted persons.

“You can’t blame the police for murders,” Mr Thompson added. “I went to a number of police schools. FBI, DEA, Secret Service, I went to England for Detective Training School, Scottish Police College, Interpol, and they all tell you murder is not a preventable crime.

“The man who wants to kill someone, he knows who he’s going to kill, he’s picking his spot, he’s picking the time, he’s picking the location and he’s picking the weapon he’s going to use. Now, you can saturate, but the fellow when he goes out to a nightclub out west where you ain’t saturated, that man that’s targeting him is going to get him out there.

“…But I think the commissioner is on track. They’re doing what they have to do and they’re working hard. We’re not discouraging them by the criticisms. The politicians criticise them, talk shows criticise them, but one of the things I love to see is that under all the criticisms, they’re doing a magnificent job,” Mr Thompson said.