The first 37 of 100 police trucks acquired by the Royal Bahamas Police Force were deployed on Friday with another 63 trucks expected in the country soon.
The trucks were distributed among the various divisions on New Providence.
"On the ground as we speak, we have a total of 37," Commissioner of Police Clayton Fernander told reporters at Police Headquarters.
"The balance, which is 63 vehicles, should be here on the island in another week and a half; it's on the way to New Providence. So, we are pleased with the government for signing off on this and we are ready to move."
Fernander revealed that the cost of the 100 trucks is "just under $2 million". He said the vehicles are more versatile, and are well suited for New Providence's roads which are prone to flooding.
"After taking office, I did my inspection to the various divisions. I found that a division, Southwestern, which is a huge area, had only two vehicles. The other divisions, the same issue. I put the information together, I met with my minister, and eventually to our prime minister, and after it was presented, right away, the prime minister and the minister agreed that, no, this just can't continue to happen," he said.
"I put a proposal together, I looked at the fleet of vehicles that was present during that time. I did research within the region with respect to fleet of vehicles and we came up with the Frontier trucks that are being used across the region in the fight against crime. And the prime minister agreed with my proposal of 100 vehicles and he signed off on it almost immediately with [the Ministry of] Finance.
"We did our background and we are being driven by the data where the crimes, the shootings, continue to happen; the armed robberies, the murders, and vehicles that are being stolen.
"We are being driven by the data and the concentration and to be consistent in these areas. The Bahamian people want to see more boots on the ground, more presence within the community to prevent these incidents from happening and we will do just that. The officers are up to the task."
Prime Minister Philip Davis said acquiring the police trucks is part of his government's initiatives aimed at addressing crime and the fear of crime.
"My administration upon coming to office understood and appreciated that our country has been gripped with a cycle of violence that does not augur well for economic growth," Davis said.
"The first step to any growth is to ensure that our citizens feel safe, and that they operate in a secure environment. We have identified some initiatives, one of which was saturation patrols.
"We recognized that whereas we had limited vehicles to make our efforts of saturation patrols effective, [we] decided to invest in acquiring 100 vehicles specifically for purposes of this initiative.
"And so, we are today demonstrating what we've been talking about investing more in prevention, and we think that these initiatives, our streets being lit, saturation patrols, the police presence in these various areas, particularly what we call hotspot areas, will be a deterrent for crime and that is what this is all about."
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