Prime Minister Perry Christie promised yesterday to "launch the most sustained assault on crime" the country has ever seen.
"This is no longer about winning votes; it's about stopping the slaughter on our streets and putting criminals behind bars," Christie said.
"When you see us reach a point where five murders are committed within 48 hours, we have to know that we are in crisis that calls for immediate, resolute and sustained action."
His comments came during a swearing in ceremony at Government House for eight Cabinet ministers.
The group included Dr. Bernard Nottage, minister of national security and government leader in the House of Assembly and Keith Bell, minister of state in the Ministry of National Security.
Others sworn in were Obediah Wilchcombe, minister of tourism; Jerome Fitzgerald, minister of education, science and technology; Ryan Pinder, minister of financial services; Allyson Maynard-Gibson, attorney general and minister of legal affairs; Damian Gomez, minister of state in the Ministry of Legal Affairs and Michael Halkitis, minister of state in the Ministry of Finance.
Bell and Maynard-Gibson, who were not candidates in the May 7 election, were appointed to the Senate.
Wilchcombe and Maynard-Gibson are both returning to ministries they headed during the PLP's last term in office.
"The ministerial appointments today reflect the very high premium that I have placed on prior experience and a proven track record in leading the war against crime and in leading the campaign to revive our declining fortunes in tourism. I need ministers who can hit the ground running," Christie said.
"The decline in our economy, especially in our primary industry tourism, also calls for tried and tested hands to be placed on the wheel."
After the ceremony, Dr. Nottage said the government will roll out new crime fighting strategies within the next few months, including Urban Renewal and social intervention in inner city communities.
"We are, like the prime minister said, in a crisis," Dr. Nottage said. "But we are fooling ourselves if we think because we became the government it's going to change overnight. It's not.
"We're going to be very aggressive though, and over the course of the next month or so you'll see us introducing a number of new strategies, some of which were not detailed during our election campaign."
The new attorney general said she plans to reintroduce Swift Justice, a policy implemented by the former Christie administration, and a stronger witness protection program.
"We are going to deal with this matter on an urgent basis as best we can hitting the ground running as of today," Maynard-Gibson said.
On Wednesday, Philip Brave Davis was sworn in as deputy prime minister and minister of works and urban development. Christie was sworn in as prime minister on Tuesday.
The final group of Cabinet ministers will be sworn in at Government House today.
The government also announced yesterday that former Commodore of the Royal Bahamas Defence Force and former Ambassador Clifford 'Butch' Scavella has been engaged to spearhead the setting up of a new body that will seek to more efficiently co-ordinate intelligence-gathering and joint strategic planning among the various law enforcement agencies in the country so as to ensure a more effective campaign against gun smuggling, drug trafficking, illegal immigration, poaching, and crime generally.

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