By KHRISNA RUSSELL

Tribune Chief Reporter

krussell@tribunemedia.net

THE Davis administration says it is seeing success in its fight to stem a gun war between gangs and this may be the result of the return of senior Royal Bahamas Police Force officers who were sent on leave and then on special assignments under the previous government.

Director of communications in the Office of the Prime Minister Latrae Rahming made the assertion yesterday, saying prior to the reassignment of Clayton Fernander, Leamond Deleveaux, and Kendal Strachan under the Minnis administration, the country was gaining progress from their work.

Following the Progressive Liberal Party’s election win in September 2021, the senior officers were returned to head vital sections of the RBPF in a restructuring exercise of the organisation by Commissioner of Police Paul Rolle.

Assistant Commissioner Fernander heads the force’s intelligence management portfolio, ACP Deleveaux heads criminal proceedings and prosecutorial control and ACP Strachan heads operations management and tactical support.

“Let me be clear, it is this government’s approach to have a multifaceted approach to crime,” Mr Rahming said in response to claims made by former Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis in Parliament on Wednesday night.

Dr Minnis said crime in the country had escalated as Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis travelled on expensive trips with large delegations.

“What we can report is that we are seeing success (in) the rapid operation of cease fire with the Royal Bahamas Police Force,” Mr Rahming said at a press conference.

“It was the previous administration’s decision to dismantle senior leadership of the Royal Bahamas Police Force. That decision had an impact on crime particularly on moving persons like the deputy commissioner who has intelligence on understanding the impact of crime on our country.”

Asked if he was suggesting that challenges with crime were directly linked to the reassignment of certain people, Mr Rahming reiterated that people with intimate knowledge of the criminal element in the country should not have been moved.

“I am saying that the ones who were moved had an understanding and intelligence of what was happening on the ground, particularly the deputy commissioner who had a very comprehensive understanding of the way the gangs work.

“You operate by intelligence and you operate by persons who have a reputation of understanding the realities of what’s happening on the ground. When you move these persons from that capacity you allow that void to happen.

“So, I think in any national security apparatus the value of that intelligence is critical to solving crime. So, it is my belief that when we politicise the process of crime there’s an impact.”

He continued: “For example if the government decides they are not going to put funds in Urban Renewal we all know that Urban Renewal is a community level approach to fighting crime. So, if we continue this approach of ‘I’m going to move John Doe or I’m not going to put funding in a programme’ that’s going to impact community policing that’s going to have some impact.

“Now I think the previous administration takes credit for crime not understanding that for the last two years there was a pandemic and now what we’re seeing is the proliferation of that process.

“I think our point then is if you have senior police officers who understand crime, who understand the dynamics, who’ve been at the forefront of dismantling gangs, that you ought to leave them in place because the country was gaining progress from their work.”

Mr Rahming also responded to criticism about government travel, saying where there is benefit in attending overseas meetings, the government will capitalise on those opportunities to benefit the country.