The Bahama Journal revealed several months ago that there were more than 100 people on bail who had been charged with murder, and more than 100 on bail who had been charged with other vicious crimes like armed robbery.
Police Commissioner Paul Farquharson and other officials have gone on record expressing concerns about people on bail committing other crimes and have called for an improvement in the whole system of justice to address this problem.
Minister Maynard-Gibson, who was addressing an international crime summit at the Wyndham Nassau Resort, assured participants from The Bahamas, the Caribbean and the United States that the Government of The Bahamas was serious about improving strategies to tackle crime and prosecute criminals swiftly.
“The government is committed to reviewing with the judiciary the amount of judges that are devoted to hearing criminal matters. Also, we recognize that there is a need for more prosecutors within the AGﾒs office and we are in the process of recruiting more prosecutors as we speak,” Minister Gibson said.
“We also recognize that in order to expedite the hearing of matters, we need to modernize our court facilities and we expect shortly to make a final decision about the new judicial complex, and we expect to break ground on that complex this year.”
She acknowledged that crime, in large part, could be traced to the social degradation in many local communities.
The minister reiterated her ministryﾒs commitment to continue working with all stakeholders to introduce initiatives that would further enforce and enhance the fight against crime, like the swift justice programme, which seeks to improve the efficiency of the justice system.
According to Minister Maynard-Gibson, since the programme was introduced earlier this year, there has been an improvement in the management of cases by the Attorney Generalﾒs office and fewer lost judicial days.
In recent weeks, there have been three major criminal trials ﾖ two in Nassau and one in Freeport ﾖ proceeding at the same time. In each matter, the AGﾒs office secured a conviction.
Participants were told that the government is also now improving upon procedures to expedite properly made requests under treaties and legislation.
But the minister admitted that the introduction of such measures would also mean the need for more human and physical resources.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Security Cynthia Pratt, who gave the keynote address, said officials must adopt from the criminals their spirit of cooperation.
“They find no difficulty in working with each other, in negotiating deals and sharing up turf. Why should we?” she asked.
“ﾅGiven the transnational or trans-border nature of crime, it behooves us to develop, maintain and strengthen our regional and international linkages, to create structures and processes that promote and encourage exchanges at all levels, including law enforcement, academic, cultural and social.”
According to Minister Pratt, while crime and security remain the most pressing concerns, the traditional approach to dealing with such problems must give to new ways of thinking.
“The problems that we face today are increasingly multi-disciplinary, requiring greater and almost seamless inter-ministerial cooperation and coordination. It is simplistic and wrong to believe that the police by themselves can stop crime, stop people killing each other, that the Defence Force is able to solve the problem of illegal immigrants coming to our country or that the prison service is able to reduce the high recidivism rate by itself,” Mrs. Pratt said.
“What we have grown to realize is that the solution of the problem of crime is as comprehensive as the problem itself. The solution requires the deployment of our best minds, working together in synergy to develop strategies and initiatives to bring remedial action to those conditions and circumstances that give rise to crime and give birth to criminals.”
According to Minister Pratt, the state must consequently deploy its entire machinery as well as develop and foster partnerships with non-governmental organizations.
With that she applauded the comprehensive and holistic approach of the governmentﾒs urban renewal programme, which was launched four years ago, saying that since the programme started criminal activity has been reduced.
But she admitted that a “whole lot” more needs to be done to rid communities of crime.
By: Macushla N. Pinder, The Bahama Journal
