By RASHAD ROLLE

Tribune News Editor

rrolle@tribunemedia.net

PRIME Minister Philip “Brave” Davis said more intrusive policing is coming in response to the rising murder rate.

“We will not violate anyone’s civil liberties, but you are likely to be impacted by more roadblocks and unannounced police action,” he said during a national address last night.

The murder rate is up 150 per cent compared to the same period last year, with eleven people killed, the most for this period in over a decade, according to The Tribune’s records.

 Mr Davis said the more intrusive policing “may make you late for your appointments, or delay plans you have, but this is a small price to pay for the collective benefit of having our streets made safer, and our lives less blighted by murder and other violent crimes”.

 He said officers will be reminded to operate “at all times within the law and treat each person with the necessary courtesies and dignity”.

 Mr Davis highlighted the government’s familiar crime-fighting pledges and tactics, promising to invest more in CCTVs and police vehicles and to flood hotspots.

 He revealed officials are reviewing “the operation of the Confidential Informant Fund” to increase the “effectiveness of information gathering and covert operations”. Some countries use the fund to compensate people who provide sensitive information.

“We are constructing a National Forensic Laboratory in order to reduce our dependency on foreign jurisdictions,” he said. “We will then be able to conduct our own forensic analyses, which will significantly speed up investigations and improve the quality of evidence used in trials.

 “We are going to introduce the toughest anti-gang legislation ever. If you are associated with a gang, we are coming after you. If you have a lot of shiny things, no way to explain your wealth, we are going to seize what you have.”

 Mr Davis said he asked Cabinet ministers to recommend measures to improve how conflicts are resolved.

“Cussing, fists, knives and guns have no place in how we resolve our differences,” he said.

 He added that a “Gang, Crime and Justice Task Force” chaired by the ministers of education and national security was convened in October, meets weekly, and is attended by “a number of ministers, the commissioner of police, commissioner of the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services, and the commodore of the Defence Force and their teams.”

 Mr Davis also discussed the contentious bail issue, which featured prominently in speeches during last week’s Opening of the Legal Year event. Chief Justice Sir Ian Winder and Bar Association President Khalil Parker defended how judges handle bail. 

 “A judge has the right to use his discretion when granting bail,” Mr Davis said. “Judges in The Bahamas live in The Bahamas, and they know the truth of the statistics: releasing these men on the streets is akin to a countdown to a death sentence.”

 He said repeat serious offenders getting bail and either becoming murder victims or perpetrators of serious crimes is troubling.

 “These, in my opinion, justify a more aggressive approach by the judiciary in denying bail in murder cases,” he said. “In my view, the prosecutors must likewise be more aggressive in appealing instances where bail is granted and the elements I have just described exist.”

 The latest murder happened on Friday night. Police said around 11.50pm, an argument occurred at a bar off Carmichael Road between the victim and the suspect, resulting in the victim being stabbed multiple times. Police said a 30-year-old was questioned in the matter.