It came as a surprise on Monday when the government announced that it was to speak with of the most famous police officers in the world. William Bratton is a former chief of the New York City Transit Police, Boston police commissioner, New York City police commissioner and chief of the Los Angeles Police Department. He has been credited with helping reduce crime levels in those major jurisdictions.
Bratton, who is now chairman of the New York-based risk consultancy company Kroll, met yesterday with government and police officials to discuss crime-fighting strategies. It remains to be seen if Bratton will be contracted to conduct a full strategic review of the crime situation in The Bahamas.
At a news conference yesterday, though, he gave some good advice to current and future politicians and current and future leaders of the Royal Bahamas Police Force (RBPF).
"To deal with the issue of crime and public safety requires first and foremost political leadership that is committed to dealing with it, and secondly police leadership and organization that is capable of being creative in dealing with it," said Bratton at Police Headquarters.
Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham and National Security Minister Tommy Turnquest said yesterday that the engagement of outside help in the crime fight is not an admission that the government has failed in this area. Instead, they argued that it is another tool in the government's crime fighting arsenal.
With four murder records in five years and significant rises in various property crime categories over the same five-year period, more serious intervention is needed. Bratton's success in major U.S. cities, which had serious violent crime problems, would be useful. Anyone who suggests the contrary is being disingenuous or excessively partisan.
For all that has been tried the last few years, we have not yet found the right mix of policy initiatives to reduce crime in The Bahamas, particularly in New Providence. And we should all realize that no one"catchy slogan solution"will solve our problem overnight.
While we agree that Bratton's advice would be useful, we hope the government adds to that advice the opinions of distinguished retired police officers of good standing from The Bahamas.
There are many retired officers who are nationalists and they would happily give advice to help the force in the crime fight. They have always loved The Bahamas and would answer the call from a Progressive Liberal Party(PLP)or Free National Movement (FNM) administration to help the country. A combined pool of expertise, from international and local sources, could help the leadership of the force and policymakers find new ways to address our crime problem.
What must be remembered, though, is that the police force is only one part of the criminal justice system. We would also advise the government to seek competent advice to reform the Office of the Attorney General and its relationship to the judicial system.
If police arrest more people and put together better cases, but the prosecutors can't prosecute them in a timely manner and the courts are unable to accommodate these trials, then little will change. We excessively blame police for the crime problem. The force is just one of the state agencies to respond to crime. The others must be equally scrutinized to ensure they are capable of carrying out their mandates.
Is the engagement of Bratton a criticism of Police Commissioner Ellison Greenslade?No. Mother England with her famous police services called for Bratton's advice after riots in that country last year. Wise leaders and wise countries seek the advice and service of the best and brightest from around the world to make their countries better. We have a crime problem. We need to fix the problem. We should all welcome the advice of those who have been successful fixing crime problems elsewhere.
Click here to read more at The Nassau Guardian
