The Tribune

The veterans of our uniformed services are not being respectfully treated.

We have reported previously on the shoddy treatment of some of our senior officers - be it Captain Samuel Evans, who feels he was pushed out of the Royal Bahamas Defence Force he served as deputy commander, or his superior, Commodore Tellis Bethel, himself packed off on leave until next year, or Senior Assistant Commissioner of Police Stephen Dean, who felt the government’s handling of his pre-retirment leave “hurt” and who wanted it done “with more respect”.

Now we have Assistant Commissioner of Police Kendal Strachan, returning from enforced vacation leave only to be ordered to take up a new role as chief of security at the Willie Mae Pratt and Simpson Penn schools for girls and boys.

He intends to fight the decision – and sharp legal mind Wayne Munroe has already raised several concerns over the legalities of the letter that ordered his transfer, such as ACP Strachan being part of a team to operate “under the protocol of the permanent secretary” rather than under the command of the police force.

Four more senior officers are due to return from compulsory leave soon – and they will be waiting with trepidation to see if they too are to be shipped off to a new role somewhere. The Minnis administration has been disingenuous in its treatment of senior officers, shrugging off the idea that officers might be being moved aside as if it’s ridiculous. Well, if it looks like a duck and it walks like a duck...

For those in the lower ranks, too, this cannot be good for morale – as officers look at what might lie ahead for them, banished on leave and then dumped goodness knows where.

If the Minnis administration wants to restructure the uniformed forces, then at least be honest about it, and forthcoming about the legalities of doing so.

As for Police Commissioner Anthony Ferguson, whose officer this is, he first said it was an issue he shouldn’t be commenting on, then when told his signature was on the letter moving ACP Strachan, ducked behind Minister Dames’ coattails.

Is this really the way we want to be treating officers who have given decades of their life in service to the Bahamian people?

Do we not owe a debt of service to them in return? And that debt must begin at least with honesty.

Give these men honest answers about what will happen to them and why they are being moved aside. It’s the least they deserve.

Why no clear response after yet another murder?

One would think the day after widespread reporting of the murder of a mother of six that the police would put on a show of strength - or at least a show of concern.

One would think that as people the nation could think to themselves “that could have been me” that the Minister of National Security, Marvin Dames, would be front and centre offering reassurance and determination that the culprit would be brought to custody.

One would think that the police would hold a press conference, telling the country what they know about the crime, and asking the public to report what they know – to ensure that the killer is caught.

One would think just over a week before Christmas that the police would want people to know they are safe, that they are secure - and that this killing, the murder of Cleo Lockhart, is their top priority for investigation.

Instead, no press conference. No press statement. No minister in front of the cameras. No police commissioner offering reassurance.

Indeed, the murder has been met with barely an acknowledgement - a press release after the initial incident and a few words at the scene.

One would think this ought to be something that should be met with little more than a shrug. Instead, this is where we are. Where murder is no longer shocking to our officers. Where outrage is lost to silence.

Have the authorities reached the point where they think such a murder is acceptable? That this is how we should live –- and die –- now? That this is our everyday world? If so, then that is something that really should make one think.