By KYLE WALKINE

Tribune Staff Reporter

kwalkine@tribunemedia.net

TOO many people decide to mete out “street justice” and not allow the legal system to do its job, especially when it comes to threats of death, according to head of the Central Detective Unit, Superintendent Paul Rolle. 

Supt Rolle said that while police take death threats very seriously and investigate every one that is brought before them, there are some people who want “instant” results and don’t give police enough time to thoroughly carry out their investigations. 

“We live in a country where people want instant results,” Supt Rolle told The Tribune. “People want instant justice. We don’t do that.”

“Nowadays we see where people want to time you

after they report a death threat. Some tell you to deal with something by a certain time or they will deal with it themselves. Just because someone says that a person has threatened them doesn’t mean we can just arrest them. We have to investigate.”

Supt Rolle, who is head of the Homicide Division, said at times there is an ongoing feud between a murder victim and the person accused of their death. 

“Some matters are reported to the police,” he said. “Then there are some that aren’t. Some people decide to deal with it on their own.”

He said that is why it’s important for police to meet with family members immediately after their relative is murdered, as this is when they get an idea of who the victim really might be. 

“There are some instances when people report their matter to the police and we deal with it,” he said. “But just because the police dealt with the matter doesn’t mean the grieving person is satisfied. Some still want blood.”

“So you have instances where you have persons go to court and are charged. But they may come back out and they, or the grieving, want revenge.”

Supt Rolle said his position is that people ought to learn to respect the established system. He said if a matter is before the court then people must allow the system to take its course. 

National Security Minister Dr Bernard Nottage recently told The Tribune that his ministry takes death threats very seriously and that he is confident in the work members of the Royal Bahamas Police Force (RBPF) are doing in investigating such matters. 

The issue of death threats has been brought to the forefront in recent weeks.

The mother of 18-year-old Haywood Thompson said her son had received threatening messages weeks before he was found stabbed to death in Eleuthera on July 6. Those threats, she said, were reported to police in Governor’s Harbour. 

Recently Free National Movement (FNM) Deputy Leader Loretta Butler-Turner expressed her disappointment in receiving no word from the police for three months about a death threat she received in March. 

It was later revealed that another letter had been sent threatening the lives of several FNM members, including FNM Leader Dr Hubert Minnis, FNM Chairman Darron Cash and Deputy Chairmen Dr Duane Sands and Brensil Rolle. 

In the wake of those threats, Commissioner of Police Ellison Greenslade assured the FNM members that they can go about their normal lives without fear because the matter was being taken care of. 

He also denied concerns that the police department was “slow” to investigate the claims.