As the government continues to roll out police-related initiatives, there will be a need for more manpower in the Royal Bahamas Police Force (RBPF), according to Police Staff Association (PSA) Executive Chairman Darrell Weir.
Mr. Weir’s comments came in the wake of two police officers being shot, one of whom was killed.
Last week, Police Reservist Dennis Clarke was murdered at a Laundromat on Prince Charles Drive as he attempted to stop a robbery.
Over the weekend, Police Constable Herman Pinder was shot in the neck after he allowed a prisoner to use the restroom at the Princess Margaret Hospital (PMH).
On Monday, Police Commissioner Ellison Greenslade said he was concerned that only one officer was assisting the prisoner when the attack happened.
While giving condolences to the families of both officers, Mr. Weir said he does not want to tarnish police investigations, but he does not want members of the association to be used as scapegoats.
“We have all the mechanisms in place to do our jobs,” he said during a press conference. “We support the commissioner of police wholeheartedly, but when it comes to our members… safety is paramount. I feel that we should go through any lengths to ensure that our officers and the person that he or she is engaged with like a prisoner is protected because we don’t want an incident like this to occur again.”
He also spoke about the association’s reaction to the violence against the officers.
“It was touching because we know we are out there every day of our lives to keep our country safe and to know that we are the targets. We are not immune to it. But it touched us and it brought us together more,” Mr. Weir said.
On Monday, the government launched Urban Renewal 2.0 – a promise Prime Minister Perry Christie made while on the campaign trail.
And with more initiatives coming on stream like school policing, Mr. Weir said more manpower is needed.
“We are stretched and with the all these things like Urban Renewal and school policing coming on stream we definitely will need more police officers. We don’t want to make it a police state but it is a reality that we would need more police officers,” the executive chairman said.
Over the years, the force has tried to promote the “Police are my friends” slogan.
Mr. Weir said he believes most people in the community have gotten the message.
“The police have a good relationship with members of the public and I have no doubt of that. There is only a small part of the community who are criminals that are causing havoc for this whole country. There are more good people out there than the people who are making a nuisance and causing the way of life for the country to change,” he said.
The executive chairman said despite last week’s tragic events, officers have not lost their enthusiasm to work.
“Officers are upbeat and we are ready for the task. We have a job to do and we are ready for the job. We have served notice to the criminals out there that whether you are in Inagua or anywhere else in the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, if you are engaged in criminal activity, we will come and get you,” Mr. Weir said.
“It is an all out war on the criminals who are causing problems in this land.”
