by Jerome Pinder
In a recent letter to the Tribune's Editor, Mr. Ivoine W Ingraham tells us that "Crime is everyone's problem."
Mr. Ingraham's letter is written in defense of the FNM Administration regarding the crime epidemic that we currently face in this Country. I agree with Mr Ingraham, the Government, whether FNM or PLP, cannot prevent crime. And to take it further, the Police cannot be in all places at all times. So we will accept for a moment that we are all responsible for crime.
What Mr Ingraham did not take on, is who is responsible for the criminal? Who is responsible for the administration of justice in the Bahamas? We currently face a very dangerous situation in this town, where a small minority of criminals are threatening the social fabric of the Bahamas. We have a small minority of criminals out on bail, repeating the many dangerous offenses that they were originally charged for.
Who is responsible for dealing with these criminals? Can citizens take matters into their own hands? Under the leadership of both political parties, our justice system has crumbled. FNMs and PLPs are both to blame.
I will give the FNM Administration the credit for appointing a new DPP and a foreigner at that, who hopefully has no ties in this Country and who hopefully will have no political interference.
However, the Government has failed on a number of fronts:
- They have failed to carryout Capital Punishment as promised by the Minister of National Security.
- They refuse to sign death warrants, so that cases can move forward.
- They have taken to long to expand the Courts and appoint more judges, although money has been wasted elsewhere.
- They have failed to police illegal activities such as the numbers business, which creates a sense of lawlessness in the Country.
- One of their own Cabinet Ministers stated that current loopholes in the laws were used by defense attorneys to get criminals off the hook, yet they have failed to update these laws.
The current FNM Government has the power of Parliament to change whatever laws necessary to prevent these serious criminals from being out on bail. Do we need a referendum from the Bahamian people to deal with this problem?
Let's not mention the recent attacks against witnesses in cases that are being brought before the courts. We need to set a harsh example when these culprits are caught! And we need to start prosecuting family and friends who are caught harboring criminals and receiving stolen goods.
The majority of Bahamians are law abiding citizens. It is beyond me how we as a people, through our elected representatives, are allowing such a small group of thugs to create havoc in this Country and we seem hopeless to deal with the problem. Behind the scenes, is the criminal element that powerful in this Country?
Crime will always be with us, but why can't we administer harsh penalties on the Criminals?
