Rick Lowe
Almost everyone you come in contact with these days seems preoccupied by crime here on Nassau.
Crime has certainly increased, but what can we do about it?
I've recommended we all become more vigilant with calling the Police when we see things going on in our neighbourhoods that seem odd.
A friend has suggested the Police should identify volunteer constables in each neighbourhood as their contact, so when a call comes from them they know it's serious.
Another friend has suggested the Police deputise a couple hundred people to call in bad drivers or suspicious activities or people around businesses etc.
It is very important that the identity of these volunteers be kept confidential as well.
Can we come up with a larger list to send to the Police Commissioner and the Minister of National Security?
After all, the criminal element comes from among us, so it is incumbent on us to offer suggestions and help where possible.
Rick here is my five cents:
1) We need an effective justice system. We have had 80 murders for the year. How many have been prosecuted or even started? Maybe 5 to 10 at most. So all these people will end up on bail. Criminals have no fear of the system. We need an effective system were they know a heavy price will be paid. The capacity of the courts to hold two jury trials is not acceptable in a modern day bahamas.
2) Government is investing funds into everything else in this town besides the Justice System, this needs to change.
3) Business owners need to have the right to arm themselves. This could involve annual fire arms training etc. However, they need this right.
4) No bail for capital offences.
5) Start prosecuting the small offences and make the penalties hard. For example, all these guys riding up and down on motorbikes without helmets and running red lights, on the 2nd or 3rd offence the bike should be confiscated.
6) Increase the fines for litter and traffic offences, etc. Start making school children due community service when they are caught littering or down town using fowl language.
7) Increase the penalties drastically for family and friends caught harboring criminals or accepting stolen property.
8) Use chain gangs and start making the prisinors work to clean up this town, roadways, painting run down building etc.
9) My Final point although the list could go on, we nned a PM who believes in Capital Punishment and has the guts to tell the Commissioner of Police to take back the streets. Criminals should be running from us not us from them……………
Well said Jerome, now how can we implement it.I just don’t understand why the government does not seem to see the importance of it.I think they should stop anything else they are doing, just to implement your plan. There is no good reason in Gods world why they should not.Try it for a while, at least try it.What we are doing now is clearly not working, then again, maybe its working just how they want it to…..
This discussion has been going on for at least ten years and it is always misdirected. We will say, again, what we said ten years ago at a Safe Bahamas meeting.
“Unless and until you get rid of the massive corruption in the government, public service, legal system and police force, you will never make a dent in crime.”
How long we going to play this game?
I’ll second that thought B2B, but,
How does one fire 28-30% of the population?
They, and the Percentage of the private sector who buy into the corruption of the system, out number those who would se it function as it should.
Used to be Pindling had the civil service convinced that if voted out, they’d all lose their jobs, even then an impossibility.
Even of you could cull out the corruption, who would we replace them with?
Top down, the ethics are shot, general orders forgotten, rule of law trampled.