The average criminal knows that upon committing crimes, it is likely that he will get bail. He also knows that it is very likely that nothing may come out of the situation after going through various appeals. “I do not think that this is rehabilitation. If anything, this lends to the confidence of the criminal element,” according to Assistant Commissioner of Police, in charge of Crime, Reginald Ferguson.
These and other facts on crime were given Sunday by a group of leading law enforcement officials who were special guests on Island FM’s Parliament Street, radio talk show, hosted by Jerome Sawyer and Jessica Robertson. Officials, in addition to the Assistant Commissioner, included, Commissioner of Police, Paul Farquharson and Officer in Charge of the Central Detective Unit, Supt. Marvin Dames.
Siding with remarks made by Mr. Ferguson, Supt. Dames said that prison is presently an institution where young men go to learn about crime, to perfect their art and forge alliances and links, so that once released, they are again ready to carry out crimes.
“The quicker we move into putting in systems for rehabilitation, the better, so we can really sit down and see who out of this group can be saved. There are some who will let you know that they are destined for a life of crime, while some are not doomed,” he said.
Supt. Dames said that individuals must now take control of their homes and noted that so many have abdicated their responsibilities, as it pertains to rearing kids. “We also have kids rearing kids who have not learnt the importance of growing up right and being fed wholesome love, so how can they impart this to their kids?” he asked, adding that video games and the television are now rearing kids, some of who are also on the streets being educated by the drug dealer, the arm robber and the gangster. “This results in people not having feelings and not knowing how to resolve conflict,” he said.
Commissioner Farquharson stated however, that most behaviour that is violent begins within the home. He said that if every home or family has a grip on controlling “anger management” some changes would take place. “If it is starting at an early age of youngsters and nothing is done about it, then of course, that would permeate into the adult life and this is where you end up seeing the murders and the unfortunate serious wounding that we have,” he said, adding that several elements of society must also play a role.
The Commissioner stated that the Force would shortly stage several initiatives that will hopefully curb crime and decrease the large backlog of criminal cases. He said that new emphasis will be placed on warrants, in an attempt to have them executed.
“Since warrants will be heightened, we hope that we can pull in those persons who constantly contravene the law and who violate the court appearances,” he said, also adding that there will be more police presence in uniform, despite an officers position. This, he said, will hopefully prevent many crimes from happening if officers are often spotted in their uniforms.
“We hope to implement a system while the uniforms are out and in the coming months, to tackle the minor crimes, such as tinted windows, those who sell liquor without licenses, the number houses, unlicensed cycles and loud music. These are quality of life offences in the community,” said the Commissioner.
Meanwhile, Commissioner Farquharson said the RBPF is up to the task of ridding the streets of all criminals and are not afraid of such individuals. “I can tell you, that you can rest assured, that with your cooperation, we can beat this scourge of crime in our community. You have my solemn obligation that every officer on the force is committed and will be up and about to try and bring some semblance of order,” he said.
By Tamara McKenzie, The Nassau Guardian
