The Tribune

By NICO SCAVELLA

Tribune Staff Reporter

nscavella@tribunemedia.net

NATIONAL Security Minister Marvin Dames yesterday said he is “concerned” about the number of law enforcement officers that have recently been taken before the courts on criminal charges, as he pledged to put a “greater focus” on “sifting out as many of the bad apples as possible” from the sector.

Mr Dames, in an interview with The Tribune, said the arraignments of several law enforcement officers since May is something his ministry will “take a deeper look at,” as he stressed “there will be no lowering of the bar or standards as it relates to law enforcement officers.”

He said officials are committed to receiving the “brightest and the best” to serve in law enforcement, and that the area is comprised of persons “who are truly committed to service as opposed to those who are committed to serving themselves.”

Nonetheless, Mr Dames also said the arraignments of those law enforcement officials are “consistent” with the Minnis administration’s promises to “weed out corruption” in various government agencies, warning that “until we are able to get them all we will continue to weed them out”.

Mr Dames’ comments were in response to the arraignments of several law enforcement officers, with attachments to both the Royal Bahamas Defence Force (RBDF) and the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services (BCDS), for various drug and firearm related offences since May.

When contacted on the matter yesterday, Mr Dames, the former deputy commissioner of police, said while “bad apples” exist in every jurisdiction where you have law enforcement, the recent spate of officials who have been accused of criminal wrongdoing “may speak to some wider issues that we have to fix”.

“There are some people, sometimes unfortunately who succumb to these temptations,” he said.

“But again…we will take a closer look, and we would have communicated while on the campaign trail that we will take a closer look at recruitment to ensure that we are sifting out as many of the bad apples as possible.

“And we want to ensure that we get the brightest and the best and those persons who are truly committed to service as opposed to those who are committed to serving themselves.”

He added: “When you take an oath to be a law enforcement officer that’s a serious one. It means then you are here to enforce the laws of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, it doesn’t mean that you are here to break it. It doesn’t mean that you are above the law and sometimes I think people confuse that.

“And so we’re here now to set the record straight that there will be no lowering of the bar or standards as it relates to law enforcement officers.”

Mr Dames went on to say that the Minnis administration will continue to take an “aggressive” approach to weeding out corruption in government agencies, particularly in those connected to law enforcement, and that once the relevant individuals are identified, his ministry “will ensure that these persons face a court of law”.

“…So one side is you’re concerned from the standpoint that you may have to take a closer look at your recruitment to ensure that you’re bringing in high character individuals, and from the other end we’re pleased by the fact that we are putting a greater focus on it whereby to expose and weed out these bad apples,” he continued.

“It’s all consistent with what we’re saying, that we’re going after public sector corruption in a big way. So as we move towards introducing legislation that will establish an autonomous agency that will focus on things such as this, we’re still here to let all of those persons who are in public office know that if you run afoul of the law, there are consequences.

“And as we said when we were on the campaign trail, it’s zero tolerance. Zero tolerance is zero tolerance.”