The Tribune

IT is interesting to see National Security Minister Wayne Munroe leap to the defence of a Royal Bahamas Police Force scheme he previously dismissed as fake news when asked about it by The Tribune.

He now claims that in his two-word reply, he was referring to police officers getting cash prizes – which was not what was being suggested anyway. There were awards, of some form as yet unspecified. But Mr Munroe said yesterday: “Nobody is paid for it. And that was what I was responding to. They have no budget to pay for it. What was being suggested was they were being paid in money. As far as I’m aware, they’re not paid money.”

“As far as I’m aware” is an interesting choice of words too. By now, one would hope the minister would have taken the time to learn inside out what the scheme involved.

He added: “As I understand, that operation is about interdicting guns off the street so surely you want to judge my performance by how many guns I interdict.”

Mr Munroe is wrong. Gun seizures are part of the scheme, but so are various other aspects of police duties, including arrests, traffic stops, even the number of sick days.

The issue is that, as has been raised by human rights groups, any incentive scheme that might encourage an officer to make an arrest to score extra points rather than purely on the merit of the situation itself is ill-conceived.

Human Rights Bahamas said: “We are already dealing with an alarmingly high rate of police brutality claims and officer-involved killings. Officers are routinely accused of threatening and torturing suspects to obtain coerced confessions, and videos of police misconduct of various kinds have proliferated in recent times.”

The group added: “There is no question that such an incentive scheme runs a huge risk of enticing officers to make false arrests on little or no evidence, seriously violating the human rights of members of the public as a result. It could easily spin out of control with catastrophic and far-reaching consequences for the public’s faith in law enforcement.”

Indeed, since the scheme was revealed to be in existence, two former law officers spoke of how they had left the force in previous years frustrated by target-driven policing leading to unnecessary arrests. Each spoke of how this scheme was, in their view, exactly the wrong path to take – and looked terrible in the eyes of the public.

Mr Munroe sought to compare the scheme to incentive schemes in other professions – such as teachers.

He said schools name a teacher of the year and they get special parking. Yes, that’s true, but the teacher is being rewarded for helping student to excel, not for depriving people of their liberty.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with awards for good performance – indeed, it is to be encouraged. Quite what the award is being given for is the question – and giving awards for the number of arrests you make is in poor taste at the very least, and runs the risk of a devastating impact on human rights at the worst.

Mr Munroe’s response, and that of Police Commissioner Clayton Fernander, seems to suggest that neither understands the concerns that have been raised. Both are intelligent individuals, they ought to grasp the worries about the situation.

The best thing that could be done is to scrap this badly thought-out incentive scheme, and put in place another, one that does not revolve around the number of arrests.

Officers who excel should feel valued. Officers who shine should be held up as an example to their colleagues. But not in some competitive league where people’s rights become nothing more than an opportunity to score points. That is the problem, and that is why it should change.