Posted here with the kind permission of Dr. Sands.
Madame President… I rise to second this compendium of crime bills.
I do so with a free spirit and unwavering resolve but with a heavy heart!
Not because I have any fundamental objection or conflict with the content of these bills… I do not! These are all timely and critical adjustments in the fight against the greatest threat to our nation’s development and survival.
I am simply disturbed… I am distressed that as a nation… as a people… we have reached this point. Like the right Hon. Prime Minister… I have listened carefully to the debate in that other place on this topic… I have followed and read many of the contributions.
No-one who grasps fully the seriousness and complexity of the problems confronting this great nation could celebrate the necessary adjustments to our laws or the resultant impact on personal liberty to assure the safety and liberty of the public at large.
We are at a place… a dark place in national and international history where acts committed by individuals often threaten society as a whole and this is now becoming more a norm than an exception.
In the past… the rights of the individual were threatened by prevailing biases, prejudices, racial and economic discrimination, nepotism, ethnocentrism, homophobia, sexism, religious persecution etc. Much of the progress we have witnessed occurred because of the struggle of many to right some of these wrongs. As a country we chose the model of governance called Democracy because it was most closely aligned to those values we hold most sacred.
And yet… 38 years after independence, we are (in the net) not much better off as a people. Despite all of our blessings, we have squandered many of the gifts and have not achieved our national potential.
We are living in an era, a time… we are experiencing a moment in this civilization’s history when we are obliged to stop… to reflect … to take note and to question all that we have thought to be right and true. We must look critically and honestly at our current course, define our preferred destination and reset our course.
Governments around the world have been toppled. Once thriving economies and massive multi-national corporations have crashed. The entire European Union’s existence – even today - is reeling from the continued impact of the debt crisis. I cannot say to you with any great certainty that Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece and Spain will survive – or that other countries will not tire of bailing them out.
There are protests and riots in places we considered to be bastions of civility. Most of the western world– indeed, most of the world is at war with a violent, fanatical sect of Islam whose jihad has changed much about the world as we know it.
Young people are rising up against the old and the status quo… Crime and criminality have over-run once peaceful communities around the globe.
As much as I take note of and study world events… my interest… my primary concern– my focus is on the Commonwealth of the Bahamas and its people.
We are here today to introduce and debate this government’s legislative approach to Crime in the Bahamas and to offer what I believe to be a major part of a reasonable and (hopefully) effective solution to our people. We are here to play our role as legislators – as one part of the democratic team - to reset the national course.
Madame President
Most Bahamians are deeply troubled by the seemingly insurmountable scourge of crime.
As a direct result of the chaos around us – both at home and abroad - lives of ordinary, innocent Bahamians have been changed. In particular, the actions of a minority have led to horrendous, burdensome consequences for all. Some of the chaos is of international origin.
Much of it is home grown!
The role of international pressure is perhaps most easily appreciated by looking at the impact on the aviation and travel industry or on the financial sector.
Because there are a few individuals who are willing to blow up themselves in order to bring down a commercial jetliner, bus or cruise ship… all of us are now subjected to extensive screening, pat-downs and searching – some of which are so intimate and invasive that we sometimes feel violated.
Because some travelers and airport or dock workers have been complicit in transporting or loading drugs and weapons onto commercial vessels, we now spend a fortune not only on body scanners and security measures - but on scanners for luggage and containers at ports, machines or dogs to detect drugs and explosives. All of this has made travel somewhat less satisfying and a whole lot more expensive for all.
Because a group of greedy bankers hatched and executed a scheme to create massive wealth from mortgage loans… the whole world has plummeted into a financial crisis… and millions of people around the world have suffered. Many Bahamians have been laid off or have great difficulty making ends meet as they have been victims of the great financial meltdown – a plan hatched by a few brilliant but greedy deviants – and nurtured by the complicity of us all.
The old people say… the innocent suffer for the guilty.
Now Madame President,
I believe in the potential of the individual to do remarkable things and realize that the greatest thing about this little country is our freedom. Freedom to speak… to associate…to take risks... to invest…to vote. But personal freedom is not a license to trample on the rights of others… to abuse or misuse.
It is a sacred thing to be defended… improved. But with freedom comes responsibility! Individual freedom is not a license to infringe on the rights of others.
519 years after rediscovery… 38 years after independence and 40 years after the birth of the FNM I am proud to be a Bahamian to witness the wondrous things we have accomplished as a collection of individuals – as a people. Many have fought and sacrificed to reach a point where all Bahamians can have an opportunity to flourish.
The record will reflect Madame President… that great Bahamians have contributed to this struggle… on this side and that side of the political divide. I will acknowledge that their side has done a considerable amount of the heavy lifting… and established much of the bedrock of a fledgling democracy.
But we… the Free National Movement have done most of the finish work… the refining (enhancing or perfecting if you will.)
Over the last forty years, and particularly in the last 21 years, because of our unwavering commitment to the principles of transparent, open governance - free of corruption or victimization, the FNM has worked to build a nation where the aspirations of many Bahamians to live in a truly free and open society have begun to be realized.
Contemporary Bahamian legislators have passed laws that sought to defend the rights of the individual … in large part because our history is pock-marked with discrimination, repression and limited opportunity for the majority of Bahamians. So we have fought and clawed and struggled to celebrate and protect the value and worth of every single Bahamian. We have bent over backwards to protect Bahamian interests… maximize opportunities and limit interference by the state.
I am a member of this party, in large part because we not only speak about democracy – we actually work to improve on our national expression of this thing that can be neither seen nor touched… only experienced.
We call this the deepening of our Democracy. It is the guiding principle of civil society.
In this country… it is the battle cry and mission statement of the Free National Movement.
At one time, it was also an important guiding principle of the party opposite. But as outlined earlier…. Times change.
Over time, and with stellar contributions from many, many patriotic Bahamians… the “average Bahamian” experienced less repression, more social advancement, improved access to education and significantly more opportunity for personal growth.
The Executive, Legislature and the Judiciary of the Bahamas are components of a model of government with defined separation of powers which was defined in ancient Greece and refined in the Roman Empire. Contrary to popular belief, there is shared responsibility for the maintenance of democracy and each arm acts as a check on the others.
Sir Winston Churchchill claimed:
“It has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except all the others that have been tried.”
So after independence, the rights and privileges of indigenous Bahamians reigned supreme.
As with all things… the pendulum swung too far. As we sought to preserve personal liberty and the rights of the individual there were simultaneous efforts to hijack our society by those from the dark side… to achieve their own evil intentions. Unfortunately, their efforts were unchecked by those of us who should have been defending this fledgling democracy.
Indeed… some of the most influential architects and builders of this nation have contributed to its decline by acts of omission and commission.
And so, Madame President…
We are here today because our Bahamian Democracy is unhealthy. It has been pummeled by opportunists who have seized this precious and fragile thing – a principle that countless Bahamians have fought and sacrificed – and died … to secure. They have high-jacked the essence of our free society and diverted its’ power and impact for the specific special interests of the few.
As a result we have seen a resurgence of racism, narrow-mindedness, lies, disinformation and libel. The pendulum has swung from an era of unacceptable but generally (publically) unspoken discrimination and intolerance to a new period of public hate-speech. The current state is no better than the former. For the working class and unemployed Bahamian, things are almost as tough as they were in 1967 except with different characters.
And against this backdrop, we have an explosion of Crime… Violent Merciless crime.
I reiterate, It is my belief that we have ignored, forgotten or never learned that with freedom and democracy comes responsibility.
The recently retired President of the Court of Appeal, Dame Joan Sawyer, in an address in 2008 at the St. Barnabas Family Life Ministry’s retreat said “The worst thing that ever happened to this country in my humble opinion was freedom of religion and freedom to speak, because people have taken freedom to be license, They do not see that freedom is really responsibility. If I am walking on your rights, how can you be free? I am taking over your rights.“
That responsibility also demands a degree of professionalism and commitment to the greater good of the community and the persons who comprise it.
For many reasons we (the country or society) have collectively considered and advanced the interests of the individual.
The individual on the other hand - having achieved access to self- advancement and wealth has focused primarily – if not entirely on self. And we have either passively or actively allowed our nation to sink into a cesspit of social ills.
We have witnessed this in government… in the professions (law, medicine, accounting, and law enforcement, business … in our churches and generally throughout our country. Look around and see the number of individuals that have progressed to a point of ostentatious wealth and position while wreaking havoc on the community and country that made it possible.
As a people we have become so isolated from each other and so focused on our own interests that we have become social pacifists who play little more than lip service to social action and volunteerism.
I gatt mine… my brother…go for yourself!
There is precious little consideration of … or concern for the impact of our actions on our community or on our fellow men. We have learned the art of self-gratification and ignored the virtue of selflessness.
In some ways… our flight from the inner city … our mass exodus to the gated suburbs and isolation from our origins has made a mockery of the concept of “one Bahamas.”
As our cities and neighborhoods have died… so too have many of the dreams and aspirations of many of our brothers and sisters.
And yet, as we look around as Bahamians, we have sought to blame any and every one that we can… from the government, to the police to the church to the politicians. Any and every one but not ourselves.
So Madame President, we are here to debate a compendium of crime bills that we might have called draconian a few years ago.
Draco was the first legislator of Athens in Ancient Greece. He replaced the prevailing system of oral law and blood feud by a written code to be enforced only by a court.
Because of its harshness, this code also gave rise to the term "draconian".
The laws he laid down were the first written constitution of Athens. So that no one would be unaware of them, they were posted on wooden tablets where they were preserved for almost two centuries. It was once said that Draco's laws were written not in ink but in blood.
This group of bills is intended to improve the sense of well-being of the majority of Bahamians. Once passed, they will significantly curtail the freedom of a particular minority – the criminal.
But they are a necessary response to the sad reality of life in this country.
We hope to push the pendulum back in the opposite direction… where such laws will once again seem excessive and harsh.
Make no bones about it. These are serious time… and this is a serious response.
Madame President… there is a famous statement attributed to pastor Martin Niemöller (1892–1984) about the inactivity of German intellectuals following the Nazi rise to power and the purging of their chosen targets, group after group. The text of the quotation is usually presented roughly as follows:
First they came for the communists,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a communist.
Then they came for the trade unionists,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Jews,
and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a Jew.
Then they came for me
and there was no one left to speak out for me.
Below excerpted from Wikipedia
Martin Niemöller was a German pastor who was against communism. He supported Hitler's rise to power at first but when Hitler insisted on the supremacy of the state over freedom of religion, Niemöller became the leader of a group of German clergymen opposed to Hitler. In 1937 he was arrested and eventually confined in the Sachsenhausen and Dachau concentration camps. Niemöller was released in 1945 by the Allies.
His statement, sometimes presented as a poem, is well-known, frequently quoted, and is a popular model for describing the dangers of political apathy, as it often begins with specific and targeted fear and hatred which soon escalates.
I have specifically chosen this analogy because of the significance of the interplay between the state and the individual and the apparent irony that Senator Dr. Duane Sands and his FNM government colleagues are advocating a reduction of certain enshrined rights… some of which will be claimed to be constitutionally irrevocable at the same time as we lay claim as the protectors of Democracy.
Isn’t the road to hell paved with good intentions?
The lawyers of the Bahamas are bristling to have a go at these proposed new laws.
Madame President, The Commonwealth of the Bahamas is a country which follows the rule of law…not the rules of lawyers.
The comments have already started…These bills offend the constitution…They are too harsh. It is unreasonable to deny bail to someone who has not been proven guilty or who cannot be processed by the courts in a timely fashion….Etc. etc. etc.
THE CONSTITUTION OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF THE BAHAMAS
WHEREAS Four hundred and eighty-one years ago the rediscovery of this Family of Islands, Rocks and Cays heralded the rebirth of the New World;
AND WHEREAS the People of this Family of Islands recognizing that the preservation of their Freedom will be guaranteed by a national commitment to Self-discipline, Industry, Loyalty, Unity and an abiding respect for Christian values and the Rule of Law;
NOW KNOW YE THEREFORE:
We the Inheritors of and Successors to this Family of Islands, recognizing the Supremacy of God and believing in the Fundamental Rights and Freedoms of the Individual, DO HEREBY PROCLAIM IN SOLEMN PRAISE the Establishment of a Free and Democratic Sovereign Nation founded on Spiritual Values and in which no Man, Woman or Child shall ever be Slave or Bondsman to anyone or their Labour exploited or their Lives frustrated by deprivation, AND DO HEREBY PROVIDE by these Articles for the indivisible Unity and Creation under God of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas.
Madame President… let us briefly dissect the relationship between individual rights… collective or public accountability or responsibility… and the role of the state.
I wish to do so given the premise that I have tried to establish previously.
I suspect that I shall step on a few toes along the way.
So be it!
Let us examine a few typical…everyday Bahamian scenarios that don’t require a degree in rocket science to understand how ill we have become.
Because we have no “proof” or because the law says people are innocent until proven guilty… and evidence is hard to come by… we watch as an ordinary fella… we knew him since he was a boy… and he was never the brightest light in the chandelier.
He works at a regular job or maybe he doesn’t work at all.
Interestingly, he drives a luxury car that someone making ten times his salary cannot afford…. And he lives in a million dollar home or has a sixty foot yacht.
His parents are not rich… he didn’t inherit from his wealthy uncle… he never struck gold or oil in his back yard…But he is living large…
Maybe he is just an exceptional investor…. But what about his three other colleagues… who were just as dull growing up…
Did they all take the same course online and become miraculously wealthy?
As Bahamians we say that “he” should be given the benefit of the doubt… leave him alone… that ain’t none of your business.
Perhaps not… but such individuals perhaps ought to enjoy their fortunes in isolation. And perhaps as Bill Cosby said… Come on People…!
Albert Einstein said “If the facts don't fit the theory, change the facts.”
The presumption that one is innocent ‘til proven guilty – a principle… a “truth” on which civil society is based - while a noble and romantic concept has provided a cover for all types of criminal activity.
And persons in this country have exploited that premise to do all manner of evil including raping, stealing and killing.
The point is …perpetrators – criminals know that while they may be guilty… the system is too weak… too stressed… too slow… too corrupt to prove it.
And because the system is overburdened… it is easily and often manipulated by those who know how to play the system.
The view on the street is that all that is needed is to get bail because bail means freedom as the case will probably never come to trial.
In the meantime...witnesses can be bribed, intimidated or harmed… maybe even murdered – a fate that has befallen at least nineteen witnesses in this country over the last few years.
Many Bahamians have an insulated or incomplete view of the reality of life in the Bahamas.
Some of us… have no idea how many live… or struggle to live. Some of us don’t really care.
A romantic view of what could… should or might be… is a pleasant experience.
Such a view would lead to an insistence on maintenance of the status quo or relentless repetitive reliance on conventional approaches.
So while we may have once agreed that:
“Better 10 Guilty Men Go Free than to Convict a Single Innocent Man".
It is difficult to accept that premise when innocent witnesses are being harassed or injured or killed.
How many innocent witnesses should die, be injured or placed in fear as we adhere rigidly to a legal principle that is relevant in other societies – but is sadly- irrelevant and inappropriate in this modern Bahamas.
We have reached a point in our history when the rights of the few have been allowed to trample over the rights of the many. And the many are pretty pissed off! (may be unparliamentary)
As bad as we perceive crime to be… I can assure you that the general public’s view of crime…violent crime… seriously underestimates the reality of life and the real degree of violence in this Bahamas.
There is a generation growing up in the Bahamas today who know nothing but violence. If they continue to see and experience this as the norm… and know no better… how will their children be brought up?
And while we need desperately to reduce the number of murders… a strategy that does nothing but reduce the numbers of our own who are massacred on our streets – while a good thing in itself… will not be sufficient to make Bahamians feel safe again...
Madame President… let me describe my current professional reality. As we speak…In my office or on my hospital service I am actively caring (whether as the primary surgeon or in consultation) for a number of patients with serious injuries all of whom required emergency surgery. Fortunately, only one of them succumbed:
- 42 year old man who stumbled on a car burglary in Pyfrom’s addition only to be confronted by the perpetrator who – instead of fleeing – ran him down and shot him with a shotgun as he tried to escape. He described the assailant as “wanting to kill me.”
- A 29 year old IT consultant returning to his home in Bain Town… who was confronted by two men who put a gun to his head and demanded cash. He was shot in the chest as he walked away – not having anything to give them.
- A 51 year old gas station owner who was shot in the face during an armed robbery remains hospitalized...
- A 32 year old who was stabbed in the chest… severing a major artery
- A 38 year old man who was shot in the thigh with a shot gun by an unknown assailant.
- A young man in his twenties who was shot multiple times about the body. He had a kidney removed, part of his stomach and bowel and has spent more than a month in the ICU. I see him now because he has developed kidney failure and is on dialysis.
- A 28 year old man who was shot in the chest, stomach, pancreas, aorta and kidney
The clinical case load of one surgeon’s team.… This does not include the four other patients who were shot this weekend and survived or the two others that were shot and killed… or the 15 year old girl who was stabbed and killed.
No exaggeration… as sad as it is, the murder count in no way tells the whole story.
As Bahamians, we cry about the rising “murder rate” and call for “some-one to do something” as the number climbs.
We have focused on this number but we ignore the many who have been so badly injured that they may have died… were it not for the grace of God and the various institutional and national services that stand in the gap.
Most importantly, we ignore, negate or minimize those serious crimes against the person and others that create a fertile environment for the most extreme expression of anger, hatred, frustration, greed and social and moral dysfunction.
Yes, we have all made choices or ignored behavior that lead to crime, violence and murder… we ignore the fact that the murder count is just the tip of the iceberg and that the murders happen because the moral fabric of our society has deteriorated over a period of many years.
Yes, we express outrage at the carnage. We claim that the number has gotten “too high.”
We exclaim that someone (not us) has to do something… just as long as that something does not interfere with my hustle, my habits, my money or my behavior.
Just as long as the state’s response doesn’t interfere with my “rights” to do what I please… when I please.
And we wax poetic about how good things are… how great they were five years ago, ten years ago or more when we were a peaceful Christian society.
But daily… we close our eye to the many, many crimes and injustices that create an environment that nurtures violent crimes against the person and property. Whatever the number of murders, the truth is that we now live in a society where disputes happen often and when they do… they are now more likely to be “settled” with bullets from guns which are pervasive on our streets.
Given the Bahamian reality that crime and criminality has arisen from us – and has been nurtured by the choices we have made – or not made, coupled with unfettered access to guns and a rotting moral compass there is no doubt that unless all of us… The executive, the legislature, the judiciary, the armed forces, the church, the family and the individuals of this country work tirelessly and vigorously to do our duty… then the worse is yet to come!
We can no longer afford to give given corrupt and dishonest politicians, doctors, lawyers, pastors, businessmen, customs officers or police officers a free ride.
This government is committed to stamping out corruption and dishonesty wherever we find it without fear or favor.
Madame President…
Every year in this country… thousands of our young women give birth to babies. In 2009, of the roughly 3300-3500 recorded at the PMH, 587 live deliveries were recorded for females less than 18 years of age. In 2010, there were 623 such births.
Ponder that for a minute. Immediately some might conclude that these are just “fast”… or promiscuous “women” or that they did not know about contraception. We could fill an entire night with sanctimonious conversation…
But dig a little deeper and we find that in (2009), 108 of these females that gave birth were less than 16. In 2010, that number rose to 214. Some were as young as twelve. Think about it… Imagine your twelve or thirteen or fourteen or fifteen year old… giving birth.
I am advised that every year… our SCAN (suspected child abuse and neglect) program reviews between 120 – 150 children per year. It is a national disgrace.
What we do not say… is that all of the girls under 14 have been raped – even though they have and all of the victims between 14 and 16 may have been raped… the distinction based on Section X of the Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Act. Because none of them are old enough to consent, where are the men or boys who impregnated them? Do we make them accountable for the crimes of statutory rape?
In this great country, we hang our heads… choose not to acknowledge the depth of depravity that exists all the time but we are outraged when a child is violently molested or killed.
But we ask why the murder rate is so high.
We have allowed drug traffickers at all levels of our society to enjoy the status of neighborhood heroes. We speak fondly of the days when the only thing that kept our economy afloat was drug trafficking.
Thank God for crack we say because cars were sold, and houses were built and school fees paid. Drugs and the proceeds of drug sales are all over our streets, in our homes and on our backs.
But when the drug traffickers murder rival suppliers or engage in gangland style shootings… do we speak warmly of them then?
We refused to accept that our “little crimes” the traffic violations, lying on our customs forms, receipt of stolen, counterfeit or pirated goods and services, hiring of illegal immigrants, sexual misconduct or theft of time, supplies or services from our job-sites could have contributed to the violence that we now see. Our children have not been raised in an environment where there is absolute respect for the rule of law.
We have stood back and watched as grey market pharmaceuticals – some of them expired or intended for other countries and climates have been purchased for pennies on the dollar by a few unscrupulous pharmacists, repackaged with labels and English inserts and sold to the Bahamian population as Ethical medication for the treatment of serious diseases. Who knows what impact these drugs have had on the well- being of the unsuspecting public?
But we ask why the murder rate is so high?
Madame President, our judicial system is functionally ineffective in the administration of justice. And while we must acknowledge the critical role played by the legislative and executive branches in equipping our courts and justices, they too must accept some responsibility for the state of affairs in this country.
This problem is owned by every single Bahamian.
Defense lawyers who have manipulated the system and exploited its weaknesses and lack of resources cannot be allowed the common refrain that they must exploit any and every loop hole or take advantage of the inadequacy of our courts.
He reminds me of the man who murdered both his parents, and then when the sentence was about to be pronounced, pleaded for mercy on the grounds that he was orphan.
Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) Politician. President of the United States.
We must ask… is that behavior based on a purely objective concern for the rights of the individual (their client) or the substantial fee earned by winning at any cost – even if it means gaming or deliberately frustrating the system.
As I look to my right, my esteemed colleague Senator McAlpine might suggest that there is a biblical explanation for what we are experiencing.
We are witnessing the ride of the red and black horsemen of the apocalypse as foretold in Revelations 6
3 And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see. 4 And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword. 5 And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand. 6 And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine.
Can we legislate safety? Will these laws impact the perception of crime that is so painfully felt by Bahamians every day?
Somebody recently figured out that we have 35 million laws to enforce the Ten Commandments. ~Attributed to both Bert Masterson and Earl Wilson.
Madame President, I have painted a very grim picture of my beloved country. Unfortunately, it is not a view held by only me.
The Honourable Senator Vincent Vanderpool Wallace would surely point to the USA State department’s website that describes crime in the Bahamas in less than glowing terms.
SAFETY AND SECURITY: For the latest security information, U.S. citizens traveling abroad should regularly monitor the Department of State's Bureau of Consular Affairs website, which contains current the Travel Warnings and Travel Alerts as well as the Worldwide Caution.
The water sports and scooter rental industries in The Bahamas are not carefully regulated. Every year people are killed or injured due to improper, careless, or reckless operation of scooters, jet-skis, and personal watercraft or scuba/snorkeling equipment.
Visitors should rent equipment only from reputable operators, and should insist on sufficient training before using the equipment. There have been reports that some operators do not actually provide insurance coverage even when the renter opted (and paid) for insurance coverage. Visitors should insist on seeing proof that operators have sufficient medical and liability insurance.
Visitors should exercise caution and good judgment at all times. Engaging in high-risk behavior such as excessive consumption of alcohol can ultimately be dangerous as it greatly increases the vulnerability of an individual to accidents or opportunistic crime. Visitors should not accept rides from strangers or from unlicensed taxi drivers.
CRIME: The Bahamas has a high crime rate. New Providence Island in particular has experienced a spike in crime that has adversely affected the traveling public.
Pickpocketing and theft remain the most common crimes perpetrated against tourists. However, there has been a spate of more violent criminal activity in 2009. Three separate groups of tourists were held at gunpoint and robbed at popular tourist sites in and near Nassau; each of these incidents occurred during daylight hours and involved groups of more than eight persons. Several other groups of tourists allegedly were victims of armed robbery at more remote locations.
The U.S. Embassy has received reports of assaults, including sexual assaults, in diverse areas such as in casinos, outside hotels, or on cruise ships. In several incidents the victim had reportedly been drugged. The Bahamas has the highest incidence of rape in the Caribbean according to a 2007 United Nations report on crime, violence, and development trends. Much of the violent crime occurs outside of areas frequented by tourists, such as the “over-the-hill” section of Nassau. Two American citizens were murdered in Nassau in 2009, both allegedly in residential areas. Home break-ins, theft, and robbery are not confined to any specific part of the island.
The upsurge in criminal activity has also led to incidents which, while not directed at tourists, could place innocent bystanders at risk. An altercation at a major resort resulted in the shooting of two security officers, while several daytime robberies in Nassau led to exchanges of gunfire on busy streets.
Counterfeit and pirated goods are available in The Bahamas. Transactions involving such products may be illegal under Bahamian law, even though those laws are not routinely enforced. In addition, bringing such products into the United States may result in forfeitures and/or fines.
Some organized crime activity is believed to occur in The Bahamas, primarily related to the illegal importation and smuggling of illicit drugs or human trafficking. The Bahamas, due to its numerous uninhabited islands and cays, has historically been favored by smugglers and pirates. Most visitors to The Bahamas would not have noticeable interaction with organized crime elements; however, persons who operate their own water craft or air craft should be alert to the possibility of encountering similar vessels operated by smugglers engaged in illicit activities on the open seas or air space in or near The Bahamas.
Visitors are advised to report crime to the Royal Bahamas Police Force as quickly as possible. Early reports frequently improve the likelihood of identifying and apprehending suspected perpetrators In general, the Royal Bahamian Police Force is responsive to reports of crime and takes the threat of crime against tourists very seriously. However, the police response is sometimes slowed by a lack of resources or by the physical constraints imposed by geography and infrastructure.
Madame President, I and my party are inclined not to listen to the pundits. We are inclined to do what we feel is right for the people.
It is not what a lawyer tells me I may do; but what humanity, reason, and justice tell me I ought to do. ~Edmund Burke, Second Speech on Conciliation, 1775.
The people of the Bahamas are crying out for justice. The majority has had enough and wishes to see and feel a country which is safe enough to live in without the constant fear of attack.
Every society gets the kind of criminal it deserves. What is also true is that every community gets the kind of law enforcement it insists on.
John F. Kennedy (1917-1963) Thirty-fifth President of the USA
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Lady Justice, the Roman goddess of Justice, is today a symbolic representation of the moral force in judicial systems.[1][2]
The personification of justice balancing the scales of truth and fairness dates back to ancient Egypt.
Ancient Rome adopted the image of a female goddess of justice, which it called Justitia. Since Roman times, Justitia has frequently been depicted carrying scales and a sword, and wearing a blindfold and frequently adorns courthouses and courtrooms.
Justitia is most often depicted with a set of scales typically suspended from her left hand, upon which she measures the strengths of a case's support and opposition. She is also often seen carrying a double-edged sword in her right hand, symbolizing the power of Reason and Justice, which may be applied either for or against any party.
Since the 15th century, Lady Justice has often been depicted wearing a blindfold which represents objectivity, in that justice is or should be meted out objectively, without fear or favor, regardless of identity, money, power, or weakness.
Madame President,
There has been a legacy of criminality in the Bahamas for more than three hundred years.
It is a legacy that has led to the modern day culture of corruption and criminality. That culture has been nurtured and encouraged by all of us despite repeated warnings and the obvious erosion in the quality of life of all of us.
Today the most extreme expression of that culture has been the adoption of a Bahamian gun culture that now threatens the very existence of our nation.
We stand at a critical moment of our development. We can either acknowledge the seriousness of our problem and take corrective, effective measures or join the scrap heap of other nations who could not… or would not make the difficult choices. Such efforts will need the concerted effort of all of us.
In particular I enthusiastically support the Right Honourable Prime Minister’s call for a renewed commitment to volunteerism.
I stand here today to support this compendium of bills as outlined by the Attorney General, the Honourable Senator John Delaney.
They are a bitter pill to swallow… but they offer real hope for an ailing nation and a troubled people.
I am proud to lend my support.
