The Tribune

By SANCHESKA DORSETT

Tribune Staff Reporter

sdorsett@tribunemedia.net

FORMER Deputy Police Commissioner Marvin Dames yesterday urged National Security Minister Dr Bernard Nottage to “call him” if he wants “real solutions” to the country’s escalating crime problem.

In an interview with The Tribune, Mr Dames, who has been ratified as the Free National Movement’s Mount Moriah election candidate, questioned what Dr Nottage has been doing for the past five years if he is “just rolling out” new anti-crime initiatives a few months before the general election.

Mr Dames said he was unimpressed by the recently announced initiatives. He said the government should take a more holistic approach involving all stakeholders, instead of a more aggressive “flood the streets with police approach.”

On Sunday, FNM Leader Dr Hubert Minnis also criticised Dr Nottage for comments he made to the media last week about the “perceived increase” in crime. Dr Minnis said it is evident the government hopes the crime problem will just go away while ignoring the problem.

The comments came after a weekend that saw two people shot dead.

“There is nothing wrong with admitting that you are wrong. There is nothing wrong with telling us you need to regroup and start over and take another approach. That is certainly better than pretending you know the answer when people are dying everyday,” Mr Dames told The Tribune.

“I am a Bahamian, I want to see the government succeed because that means we all succeed. This goes beyond politics, it goes beyond party. So pick up the phone and call me. I will help wherever I can. All of the new initiatives are so aggressive, what I am saying, what the FNM is saying is that we will take a multi-agency, multi-disciplinary approach involving all the stakeholders and the community. We have to be grown enough, we have to be professional enough to say when something is not working and we need to turn into a new direction. It takes a mature government to admit they need help and admit they are wrong.”

Up to press time, 32 killings have been recorded so far this year, with 18 recorded so far this month, according to The Tribune’s records.

This is a sharp rise compared to the number of homicides police recorded this time last year. According to police statistics, there were 18 killings combined in the first two months of 2016 - eight in January and 10 in February.

Last Wednesday, after a high ranking Baha Mar official said that crime in this country could hurt the tourism product, Dr Nottage told reporters: “We are doing everything to counteract the perceived increase in crime.”

He also said: “I think that law enforcement agencies have adopted the recommendations which we have put in place, so I expect that we will see a significant downward trend of crime. I understand the concern, but I think we are putting in place measures which will alleviate the situation.”

Yesterday, Dr Minnis took issue with this reaction.

“The PLP government and Minister Nottage show once again they just don’t get it,” Dr Minnis said in a statement. “For nearly five years their leadership has been to ignore a problem and hope that it goes away. Unfortunately Bahamians are suffering the tragic results of their failed leadership. Thirty murders already this year. Beyond that attempted murders, attempted robberies, and sexual assaults are on the rise. This is not perception for Bahamians, this is reality.

“Countries like Canada and the United States have issued travel advisories warning their citizens of our troubles. Even the government’s allies at Baha Mar have spoken out about their concerns on the growing crime epidemic, and yet the PLP government continues to downplay the severity of the situation impacting our communities.

“What will it take for Minister Nottage and this PLP government to acknowledge the crime epidemic? Bahamians are scared to leave their homes at night; scared to go to the grocery store or the bank, and parents are scared to send their children to school. Bahamians deserve a government that does not dismiss their fears and concerns and instead acts on their behalf to address them.

“As we have stated many times before, the FNM has developed a comprehensive, constructive anti-crime plan that will put a priority on making our communities and neighbourhoods safe and secure. It’s a holistic approach that seeks to rip out crime at its roots. Where action is required we will act, and we will do it with the sense of urgency it deserves because after nearly five years of empty rhetoric and broken promises Bahamians deserve nothing less from their government,” Dr Minnis said.

Two weeks ago, while making a contribution in the House of Assembly, in response to a recent spate of murders, Dr Nottage announced nearly a dozen measures to combat crime. Among these were increased foot patrols in the inner city and crime hot spots; the activation and placement of specially designed mobile police vans to serve as manned police stations in communities where crime is a challenge for police; aggressive stop and search of suspicious persons and suspicious vehicles throughout all policing divisions; periodic road checks at various intersections; purposeful lock downs of communities and crime hot spots where large teams of law enforcement officers execute search warrants, arrest warrants and search for illegal drugs, firearms and stolen vehicles.