Dear Editor,

 Please print this open letter to the prime minister on my behalf.

 Dear Prime Minister,

 To say that crime is out of control in The Bahamas is almost an understatement. On a daily basis, we are bombarded with news reports of muggings, mayhem and murder. The police commissioner has indicated in different words that the force is frustrated by a revolving door of apprehension, court appearance, bail and apprehension again for yet another crime. It would seem as if either "Swift Justice" is not working or the criminal justice system is in shambles and is not being fixed.

While crime should not be politicized, the single entity that is most empowered to utilize its assets and influence upon crime is the government via its control and overall management of the legislature, the judiciary and the security services. It stands to reason then that if real progress is to be made, it has to come from government leadership, and you are the leader of the government. Unfortunately, your government seems to be long on talk and short on action. Listening to your party while in campaign mode, many were led to believe that Urban Renewal 2.0 was the panacea for crime in The Bahamas but alas, they now know what the rest of us always knew that it was nothing more than an elaborate public relations exercise to win votes. After pushing down a few houses, some of which were the legitimate residences of Bahamians, we have heard very little about Urban Renewal 2.0.

 Your party, while campaigning, erected signs around New Providence (even in ill-advised tourist-frequented areas) displaying and decrying the high murder count in the country under the FNM. You told the Bahamian people that crime was out of control. You begged the electorate to give you the reigns of government and you would do an excellent job cleaning it up; furthermore, no one could do a better job than you and the PLP. The people trusted and believed in you. They entrusted the management of the country, including its crime problem, to your care. A year has passed now, and what have you done? Not a single thing different from your predecessor. We now realize that all of that talk was just talk. What a farce.

What say you now about the high murder count? It is painfully apparent that as far as your government is concerned, so long as the murder count does not exceed that under the FNM, all is well and there is no need for concern. Try telling that to the family members and loved ones of the 119 slaughter victims thus far since May 7, 2012. And try telling it to me and all of our citizens who are gravely concerned about the direction of our beloved Bahamas.

 Judging from a very recent speech you made on crime, it is apparent that rather than taking bold, determined and decisive action to confront this national menace, you would rather adopt a long-held habit of Bahamian politicians who wax eloquent while describing problems, but fail miserably to identify and implement solutions.

No doubt you are aware that the United States has issued a travel advisory concerning The Bahamas on its website saying inter alia "the criminal threat level for New Providence island is rated as critical by the Department of State. New Providence island has experienced a spike in crime that has adversely affected the traveling public". If this is not the most serious threat to our tourism industry in a generation, I don't know what is. I would not be inclined to visit any country with a criminal threat level rated as "critical" by my government. But even in the face of this your government seems impotent to act.

Whether you are prepared to acknowledge it or not, criminals have obviously made a declaration of war and the state itself is confronted with a national emergency. Yet your government with all of the powers and assets of the state at its disposal seems paralyzed like a deer when suddenly confronted with the headlamps of an approaching vehicle. At present, there is no doubt in my mind and in the minds of many that if major changes do not occur very soon, there is a 100 percent probability that criminals will destroy our country.

I wish for you to know sir that far beyond being merely a critic I am a good citizen who desperately wants my country to succeed. Therefore, I am going to give you some real suggestions that I would implement if I was in your shoes. Your government right now needs to declare a war on crime coinciding with the declaration of a state of emergency giving police expanded powers to search for, detain and interrogate crime suspects and to declare curfews in high crime areas. Members of the defence force must be conscripted into this effort for as long as is deemed necessary. There must be no bail for people charged with murder. Judicial reform must happen now so that defense attorneys will no longer be allowed to play the system for time until witnesses die or their memories fade. Swift justice must become more than just a catch phrase, it must become real. The Privy Council must become a thing of the past, and the prosecution of crime must begin and end in our country.

 This is true independence. The law must be amended so that people convicted of illegal possession of a firearm receive no less than 25 years imprisonment. Many other laws also need to be strengthened. The present system with appeal after appeal must become a thing of the past and people convicted of murder must receive an expedited trip to Hades via the hangman. The equation must be reversed so that the bad men must be made to fear the law-abiding citizens rather than the other way around.

Prime minister, while all of this is going on to deal with the hardened criminals preventative community programs targeting the youth must begin using schools, church halls, etc., on evenings and weekends. The government must truly partner with Bahamas Against Crime and other anti-crime groups along with churches and civic organizations to adopt a holistic approach in the national crusade against crime, utilizing their sensible ideas and strategies even if it costs money. And it is going to cost money. So what?

We spend money foolishly all the time in this country; we must now be prepared to spend some money in a last-ditch effort to save our nation. Last but not least, the government should move to implement fully the recommendations of the 1994 Consultative Committee on National Youth Development as well as the 2008 National Advisory Commission on Crime, both of which are to this day gathering dust on some forgotten shelf. Prime minister, the future of our country literally is at stake. The time for talking is long past. It is time now to either put up or shut up. Fish, cut bait or get the hell out of the boat. The entire Bahamas is counting on you; we are all in this boat together. As an extremely concerned citizen, I have given you my best advice. Wherefore art thou, Mr. Prime Minister?

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