Six executives of the Police Staff Association (PSA) on New Providence and Grand Bahama will be transferred to various police stations on those islands today, according to PSA Executive Chairman Inspector Dwight Smith, in a move that some have characterized as a dismantling of the PSA.

He said these association executives, all police officers, were summoned to police headquarters last week and provided with transfer notifications in accordance with Police Commissioner Ellison Greenslade’s directive.

Smith said in a meeting with Greenslade on Friday, the commissioner advised that “crime was up and he needed to [move] the various officers to where crime is”.

“So that was his vision of trying to get everyone mobilized,” Smith said.

“The association still stands strong. The association is not confined to four walls. We still intend to do what we ought to do.

“It makes it a little more challenging for us because we are not able to harness together to make sure that, when we speak about something, we do the necessary research... and have the facts.

“It will frustrate the system in the way things operate and the day-to-day operations of the association... but if the commissioner is saying that crime is up, and he needs every hand on deck, certainly that is our first obligation: to ensure there is safety in our Bahama Land.”

He added, “If crime is to that particular level that we need all hands on deck, those people know that they are firstly police officers, who have taken an oath to protect our country.”

Smith said while the commissioner did not provide much detail on the crime problem in that meeting, he suggested that the transfers would eventually be reversed.

Crime statistics have not been made public since June.

Overall crime in The Bahamas was down five percent between January 1, 2015 and June 16, 2015 when compared to the same period last year, according to the data released.

The statistics showed that most categories were down during this period, but murders were up 10 percent.

As of yesterday, murders were up 26 percent.

There were 72 murders this time last year, compared to the 91 murders for 2015.

The transfers come just over a week after Greenslade issued force orders to tighten up the process related to police officers engaging in private engagements and those breaching the process.

When asked whether he feels these latest directives are an attempt to disrupt the PSA, Smith said, “We all have our different views. It is kind of strange that one week you have private engagement being affected and then the next week people are being transferred out.

“So, I don’t know. I made a statement and I have no problem stating it again; I was always told that make sure that you are good... and remain good, but your good is not evil spoken of.

“Sometimes we have to be wise in how we do things and what we do.

“And I am not taking away [from the commissioner] because I feel the commissioner is doing the best he possibly can in seeing how best we can manage that (crime).

“But in the same breath, the elected members of the staff association have a duty and obligation too.”

Calls placed to Greenslade were not returned up to press time.