Just days after the government announced that 150 Defence Force marines would be deployed to the Royal Bahamas Police Force (RBPF) to help those officers fight crime Police Staff Association (PSA) Executive Chairman Dwight Smith said police don’t need their help.

“We’ve got this,” said Mr. Smith during an interview with The Bahama Journal on Monday.

“We’ve been handling crime since 1840 and we can handle anything that comes our way and we’re not that far off and we’re not that bad.”

“If they want to use them at static points, that’s fine, but when you’re talking about patrolling that’s a special patrol; that’s an art that we have developed from 1840. We’ve had riots and the police were there and gained control. We’re doing a great job. Our arrest rate is the best.”

National Security Minister Dr. Bernard Nottage said the Defence Force officers would be deployed to do sedentary duties so that crime fighting police officers could be placed on the frontlines.

The country has recorded more than 80 murders so far for the year.

Last week was one of the bloodiest in recent years with murders occurring in known crime hot spots like Pinewood and Nassau Village.

But, despite the murder numbers, Mr. Smith said he doesn’t feel that crime is out of control.

However, he stressed that it is his personal view.

“It is not out of control. The Royal Bahamas Police Force can handle anything that comes its way as it relates to crime and we’re doing a great job. Everyone is on the road: superintendents and assistant superintendents; everyone is fighting crime,” he said.

He also stressed that police do not only deal with serious crimes, but minor infractions as well.

“When it comes to traffic matters, we want our officers to be courteous, but we also want members of the public to not have a problem when we’re doing our jobs. When a police officer stops you, he is doing his job. Don’t question why he’s ‘wasting’ your time. They need to do that on a frequent basis . . . because we want to be more preventative,” he said.

The PSA chairman also noted that crime is not just a police problem and urged residents, who know where crimes are being committed or are familiar with the perpetrators to contact police.