By KEILE CAMPBELL

Tribune Staff Reporter

kcampbell@tribunemedia.net

FREE National Movement Leader Michael Pintard yesterday unveiled a ten-point plan to tackle violent crime, accusing the governing Progressive Liberal Party of corruption, failed leadership, and awarding public contracts to people allegedly tied to criminal networks.

At a press conference at FNM headquarters, Mr Pintard said Bahamians were living in fear as murders and other violent crimes threatened families and communities. He argued that government claims of declining crime did not match what residents were experiencing.

“I know the fear in our communities is real. I know the grief in too many families is almost unbearable,” he said. “Yet some officials are quick to claim that some statistics say crime is down. It does not change the reality that far too many of our brothers and sisters are being lost to violence.”

He said murders had increased by nearly 40 percent under the Davis administration compared to FNM years, rising from an average of 86 a year to 119. “That means thirty more Bahamians are dying every year,” Mr Pintard said. “And yet this government has failed to put forward a coordinated, credible crime strategy. Their silence is deadly.”

He cited the recent US travel advisory warning about robberies, burglaries and sexual assaults, and pointed to the indictment of 13 people, including police and defence force officers, as well as the armed robbery of the deputy commissioner of police. “If criminals feel bold enough to target our top law enforcement, what message does that send to the rest of the country?” he asked.

The FNM leader accused the PLP of shielding politically connected figures. “Right now, the public sees young men arrested for drugs and guns while the people behind them, the bosses, sign million-dollar contracts with the government. That cannot continue,” he said.

As he spoke, a MARCO Alert rang out across the room, which he said underscored his call for urgency. “Far too many of us have come to a point where we note it without paying attention to the message and the implication,” Mr Pintard said. “We cannot accept this as normal.”

He pledged that an FNM government would not award contracts to anyone tied to criminal enterprises and challenged the Prime Minister to make the same commitment. He questioned whether contracts already awarded had gone to people with known criminal ties.

The ten-point plan includes a major recruitment drive to address police shortages, improved equipment and retention, and reforms to training, leadership and technology. It also proposes clearing court backlogs through virtual hearings, creating a modern forensic lab, strengthening specialised courts, and reviewing sentencing laws to address gun crime and sexual violence.

Mr Pintard said an FNM government would appeal questionable bail decisions, impose stricter conditions on repeat offenders, and expand rehabilitation. Other measures would separate young offenders from hardened criminals, provide more victim support, and invest in prevention programmes targeting gangs and drugs.

The plan also calls for community revitalisation, expanded neighbourhood watch programmes, and restructuring Urban Renewal.

Drawing from his own past, Mr Pintard said he was suspended twice and expelled from school before being readmitted. He credited mentors and his mother with steering him back. “Every child deserves an opportunity to transition away from a life that can lead them in jail, injured or dead,” he said. “That is why we believe in rehabilitation and in giving young people a real path forward.”

“These ten steps form a plan that is tough, balanced and achievable,” he said. “They are not promises for tomorrow, they are actions we will take under an FNM government to make our communities safer and give our young people better choices.”

In a press release, the PLP dismissed the proposals as recycled and late, insisting its Five Pillars Strategy was already delivering results. “This plan is not on paper. It is being implemented across the country. Major crime has fallen sharply. Guns are being seized in record numbers in partnership with international partners. Gang networks are being disrupted. The courts are working through backlogs and delivering more convictions. Rehabilitation programs are expanding so fewer offenders return to crime,” the party said.

“To pretend these efforts are not happening is to insult the hard work of the police officers who put their lives on the line every day,” the statement added.

While the FNM accused the government of presiding over a surge in murders, the PLP insisted overall crime trends were improving. Both parties agreed on the need for stronger enforcement, judicial reform, and social intervention, but each argued its plan was more credible.