NASSAU, The Bahamas– The main opposition Free National Movement (FNM) has questioned the decision to send officers from the Royal Bahamas Police Force (RBPF)to the Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI) even as Police Commissioner Clayton Fernander defended the position.
Opposition Leader Michael Pintard said the Government must explain its rationale for sending the 20 officers to the British Overseas Territory that has reported an increase in criminal activities over the past few weeks.
Pintard said the Bahamas has long cooperated with its neighbors in efforts geared toward mutual security. However, “Bahamian police officers being seconded to the TCI Constabulary is distinctly different.
“We are sensitive to the fact that the British government is responsible for the maintenance of law and order in its territory, but it is also of concern that we are currently going through a crime crisis in The Bahamas,” he added,
However, Fernander said the RBPF members were sent to the TCI as part of a national security exercise that will assist the Bahamas in the future.
“If everyone is paying attention, you could see the same trend (crime situation) occurring in Turks island. We believe, based on our intel, it could be some nexus. So, there is a reason for that. It will assist in the long run.”
National Security Wayne Munroe also brushed aside the concerns being raised, saying that people unaware of the operation’s purpose need not question it.
“Hypothetically, let’s say they are there to capture Bahamian criminals. Do they think that is something they should do?” he asked.
“So, the bottom line is we’ve made the statement we have [and] we are not going to entertain responses to things that aren’t fact or evidence-based. The reality is that I’ve not heard any reasoned criticism because nobody is responding to what they are there to do. Monroe said that unless you know what they are there to do, you are just talking to the blind.
The National Security Minister said that the authorities here were not divulging details of the operation for national security reasons the two countries.
TCI Governor, Nigel John Dakin, said last week that the security situation on the island is related to Jamaican gangs and severe transnational crime rather than international terrorism.
“It remains ongoing, and it will not stop unless we stop it,” Dankin told the House of Assembly as he referred to the surge in gang violence there.
Dakin said that several months ago, two local gangs lost their leadership. He told one extremely violent local gang leader was shot dead by police while resisting arrest.
“The other, a Haitian gang leader, who the police had made four separate attempts to arrest in the shanty areas of ‘Romy Yard’, was killed by one of his gang before he could be arrested.”
The Governor said that the vacuum and confusion this created allowed a predominantly Jamaican gang with a relatively small footprint here to reinforce from Jamaica.
Last weekend, Kingston said while it had taken note of the recent developments in the TCI, itdisappointingnted that despite that act, many nationalities had been identified with the crime situa, “re “Jamaicans were singled out,” adding that “such statements are distinct until.” ul.”
Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Kamina Johnson Smith said it’s “regrettable” and “unhelpful” that officials in the TCI have singled out Jamaicans about an upsurge in gang activity there.
“It is deplorable that, against information indicating that various nationalities have been and are involved in previous criminal activity and the recent upsurge, Jamaicans were singled out for blame,” she said; adding, “such statements are distinctly unhelpful,” she added.
Pintard said the Davis administration struggles to address the bloodshed in “our own country” and “are similarly slow and weak in explaining their overall plan for crime prevention, enforcement, interdiction, and rehabilitation.
“Furthermore, their coordination with other stakeholders is lacking. Therefore, it is disturbing that some of the very officers they claim are pivotal (indispensable) to their crime-fighting strategy have been shipped to our sister country to fight a similar crime war.
“We want our sister country TCI to be safe and are prepared to help beyond the traditional accords we have entered into. However, whenever we shift critical assets, the Government must explain its rationale for doing so, especially since there is an 18 percent increase in homicides in The Bahamas. It is the Government’s responsibility to explain to the public their decision, make it make sense,” Pintard added.
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