By LYNAIRE MUNNINGS

Tribune Staff Reporter

lmunnings@tribunemedia.net

ASSISTANT Commissioner of Police Shanta Knowles is set to be the country’s top cop amid a tumultuous period for the Royal Bahamas Police Force.

Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis announced at a national address yesterday that he recommended ACP Knowles for the position. She would be the first woman to serve in the role, a move that follows Commissioner Clayton Fernander’s resignation and Deputy Commissioner Leamound Deleveaux’s impending retirement leave.

Mr Davis called ACP Knowles, the current officer in charge of Grand Bahama, a “strong and seasoned professional, ready to lead the force through an era of substantial reform.” He said that as the police force moves forward under “strong new leadership”, the public will be kept informed with updates on personnel, operations, and oversight.

Former Commissioner Paul Rolle praised ACP Knowles’s anticipated appointment yesterday, noting that he made her the officer in charge of the Central Detective Unit, the first woman in that role.

“This is a great day for the police force,” Mr Rolle told The Tribune yesterday. 

ACP Knowles was eventually transferred from CDU to Eleuthera, where she was the officer in charge. The national security community usually views such transfers as a demotion. Mr Rolle, however, said he sent her to Eleuthera because he felt “it was important to prepare her for future advancement, to give her more diverse experience in policing”.

“The Prime Minister made a good choice, and it’s an historic choice as well for him, I guess, to be able to appoint the first female commissioner in the history of the Royal Bahamas Police Force,” he said. “I believe the members of the police force will all be proud, and the country will be proud. I believe Shanta Knowles will do an excellent job in leading the charge of policing in this country. She has good rapport with our international partners and I believe she will do well.”

Ms Knowles, 53, is a mother of one daughter and has served in the police force for 33 years. She has also held positions in the Southern Division, Criminal Investigations Department, Family Island Districts of Exuma and Eleuthera, the National Crime Prevention Office, and the Human Resources Department, in addition to serving as Commandant of the Police Reserves.

Her experience includes leading the Sexual Offences Squad and the Trafficking in Persons Squad, successfully investigating the first human trafficking case in the country. From 2017 to 2020, she served as the Director of the National Crime Prevention Office. She had also worked as the press liaison officer, communicating with the media and the public on behalf of the police force.