@Jlcandu - Sorry, I disagree with you. The way that the legal system works is that a crime is technically only a crime if there is a formal complaint made to the police. The police only investigate complaints made to them. In certain cases, a law might stipulate that it is a crime not to report a particular matter to the police. However part of the disparity between the PMH stats and the police stats might arise because the victim first seeks medical treatment but fails or refuses to make a formal complaint to the police instead of the other way around of complaining to the police first and then being taken to the hospital for medical treatment. I've known of situations where a person's premises was broken into but they did not report it to the police or the police never came. Yes, that person was the victim of a crime but not a reported crime, which is what the argument between the COP and Dr. Sands is really all about.

Let me give Mr. Christie and his newly formed committee some free and simple advice - tax the living daylights out of these web shop jokers. Seeing as these guys claim that they are already licensed under the Business Licence Act and that makes them licensed, legitimate businesses, then if the Government is not prepared to bring them within the terms of the Gaming Act then all they need to do in the short term is to amend the Business Licence Act, create a special category of "web shop" or whatever name they use to describe their "business" and tax them at 85% or 950% of their turnover as defined in the Act. Let's face it, these webs shop guys are not in "business" for any altruistic reasons, they are in "business" because there is easy money to be made from the "service" that they supposedly provide. If Bahamians want to gamble, let them. Just make sure that the Government gets the lions share of this easy money in the form of taxes. Don't leave the potential tax money sitting out there whereby these guys become multimillionaires for doing nothing; do the right thing and turn this situation to good use for the benefit of all of us. Some of the tax money can even be allocated specifically for sport development, arts and culture, education and antiquities.

@ rory - Yeah but on the Hanchell statement issue, some years back Hanchell stuck his nose into another court case where it does not belong. Back then a Supreme Court judge had to rap him over the knuckles for talking to a witness in a sex assault case where the accused was also a "holy" man. I agree that being charged in court does not equal guilt, but who is to say that an offence hasn't been committed, say exciting prejudice as to any proceeding pending in court under section 441 of the Penal Code?

As for Cash and other politicians whether elected or wannabes, they don't care who gets in the way of their mad dash for headlines and oneupmanship of each other. Greenslade seems to be a good man with good intentions but I don't know what he can point to as an indication of his successes. Fellows like Keith Bell don't help Greenslade because they seem to be trying to run the police force and manipulate crime statistics for political reasons from behind the scenes - think back to the 2012 billboards. Consequently, ordinary citizens don't know whose statistics to believe - Greenslade and Bell or Duane Sands? Probably safer to accept that the police and PMH each probably compile their numbers differently based on different reporting methods so both are probably right and there is no political issue here. Actually what these stories show is the laziness of the press/reporters in this country that they do no research to find out how PMH compiles its "crime" stats vs. those of the police. The police method of compiling stats needs very detailed explanation as they seem to classify homicide differently from murder, etc.

Today's work permit is driver's licence-sized, small enough to carry in a wallet or purse. This guy should have had his on him the same way the Haitian gardeners and Jamaican maids who have work permits. It's given to him to avoid the type of situation that he found himself in: being asked to provide proof of legal entitlement to be here. The fact he's in a suit and tie and driving a high-end car is irrelevant. I've been in foreign countries where having been stopped while driving or walking around and because I did not speak with an accent local to the country I'm in, I was asked to provide proof of identity (in the driving case, beyond just the Bahamian driver's licence) so I had to produce my passport.