By LYNAIRE MUNNINGS

Tribune Staff Reporter

lmunnings@tribunemedia.net

COMMISSIONER of Police Clayton Fernander revealed on Friday that a fleet of 100 new police vehicles, valued at $2m, was purchased to aid in the fight against crime within the country.

Out of the 100 vehicles, 37 are on the ground, with the remaining 63 to arrive within the next week and a half, according to the police commissioner.

“I looked at the fleet of vehicles that were present during that time, I did research within the region with respect to a fleet of vehicles and we came up with the frontier trucks that are being used across the region in the fight against crime,” Commissioner Fernander said.

“The Prime Minister agreed with my proposal of 100 vehicles and he signed off on it almost immediately with finance and here we are today. At present on the ground as we speak, we have a total of 37 vehicles. The balance, which is 63 vehicles, should be here on the island in another week and a half, it's on the way to New Providence.

“So, we are pleased with the government for signing off on this and we are ready to move.”

Commissioner Fernander promised that the new fleet of vehicles will increase saturation patrols in hotspot areas and serve as a deterrent for crime within the various communities.

“The Bahamian people want to see more boots on the ground, more presence within the community to prevent these incidents from happening and we will do just that,” Commissioner Fernander said during the press conference on Friday.

“The officers are up to the task, and all of the officers who were identified for this initiative were briefed already yesterday (Thursday).”

He noted a few members of the Royal Bahamas Defence Force will work alongside police during this initiative.

“And what this will do? The response time will be less,” he said. “The presence of complaints will be timely. This will reduce the fear of crime because if you are sleeping tonight, and you see that glare of the police light through your window, you feel good to know that the police are in your neighbourhood.”

Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis, who was in attendance, said this initiative serves as a step employed by his administration to address the issue of crime.

“This press briefing really is just to update the public on the steps and initiatives that are being employed by this administration to address the issue of crime and the fear of crime,” Mr Davis said.

“We, my administration, upon coming to office understood and appreciated that our country has been drifting in a cycle of violence that does not augur well for economic goals. The first step to any growth is to ensure that our citizens feel safe and that they could operate in a secure environment and we have identified some initiatives, one of which is saturation patrols.

“We recognised there are limited vehicles to make efforts of saturation patrols effective, so we decided to invest in that in acquiring 100 vehicles specifically for the purposes of this initiative.”

Mr Davis noted that successive governments placed focussed efforts into detection, prosecution and punishment, rather than prevention.

He said realigning the focus on prevention would allow for less attention in those areas.

It was also noted that The Royal Bahamas Police Force partnered with Bahamas Power & Light to improve streetlights throughout the community to combat crime.

The objective of the initiative is to change, improve, and restore streetlights throughout the capital, specifically in “hotspot” areas in terms of violence.