According to the Youth Against Violence President, Carlos Reid, some police officers have been involved in gangs and have the same mindset, when they are recruited by the force. He added that this is an issue that needs to be addressed.
“We have to understand where our police officers come from,” he said. “It’s not like they always leave that mentality. Some of them take the same mentalities into the work place and now feel like they have a license to act the way they do.”
Mr Reid highlighted this situation, when he spoke to The Guardian about the incident that took place at C C Sweeting Senior High School, where two uniformed police officers were stationed and attacked by eight male students on Friday.
Assistant Commissioner of Police, Reginald Ferguson, refuted this claim, saying that the police force is a “microcosm of our society.” He admitted, however, the possibility of some police officers being former gang members but said that because of their past, saying that they are “bad apples” would be inaccurate.
“To say that we have people in our organization who have been associated with a gang is quite possible,” he said. “The police officers are taken from the community, that doesn’t necessarily mean they will bring their behaviour there.”
Mr Reid added that the six-month training course implemented on the force, does not cover all of the grounds required to become a fit police officer. He said that a lot of officers are placed at certain stations, such as schools and do not have the skills necessary to deal with situations which might arise.
“If they are going to effectively deal with [these students], then they need to be trained on how to deal with them,” he said. “Because we don’t want them going into an already agitated environment and adding to the situation. We want people who will go there to prevent some situations and protect.”
However, Asst Commissioner Ferguson said that the training course is dedicated to schooling and teaching the laws, before an officer is placed in a station. He added that being a police officer is a “dynamic career” that provides continuous training.
Members of his organization, Platinum Soldiers, a gang intervention programme at the school, informed Mr Reid that the male officer who was attacked, was often seen “playing around” with the students. He added that the officer “looks like the students’ peer” and probably wasn’t respected as an authority figure.
“In no way are we condoning the fact that police officers are attacked,” he said. “It shouldn’t be that way. But a lot of these guys are young and if you want someone in authority, you have to put someone who looks like he’s in authority.”
Mr Ferguson declared that although there are young police officers, they should not be condemned because of their age, adding that in any organization, problems are inevitable. But, he said, the Royal Bahamas Police Force is not troubled.
“You always have a problem in every group of people,” he said. “Somebody’s going to fall short. But this does not mean we have a crisis.”
By: IANTHIA SMITH, The Nassau Guardian
