Criminals — Jamaica and Bahamas’ problems
tribune242 editorial
Nassau, The Bahamas
JAMAICA, which has been working hard to get its crime under control, seems to have taken a long slide backwards in recent months.
Even more worrying is the corruption that Justice Minister Delroy Chuck -- in an address on Saturday to graduates of the Norman Manley Law School-- says has reached a formidable level in Jamaica's legal system.
He told graduates, entering a system threatened by corruption, that one of his ministry's priorities under the Justice Reform Programme was "to build trust and confidence in the justice system".
"There is corruption within the court and the justice system, where the police have been paid to say they cannot find a witness, or persons have been paid to have documents destroyed - amongst many other things," he told the graduates.
"Cases languish on the books for years with very little progress, clients become frustrated and cannot move on with their lives, sometimes they appease their grievances by taking justice into their own hands," Monday's Daily Gleaner quoted Justice Minister Chuck as saying.
Reported the Gleaner: "He noted that developments in the system leave lawyers with a bad reputation as being of no help while the justice system gets a bad reputation of being of no use.
"Our judges are known for their integrity and fair play but so much more is required of them," Justice Chuck told the graduates, who he urged not to contribute to the problems when they go into practice.
"They (the judges) must assist in removing any taint of corruption, vulgarity or malpractice that may exist and they must help us to strengthen public trust and confidence in the justice system."
He said hundreds of thousands of cases had been in the court system for eight months -- some even for years.
Last year, said the justice minister, there were almost 460,000 cases before the courts -- with more than half being a backlog.
He said that stemming the backlog was everybody's business as it posed a real threat to the nation's economy.
Many years ago, Sir Etienne Dupuch sounded like a broken record as he constantly urged, through this same column, that Bahamians get a handle on crime - which at that time was nothing to what it is today.
He warned that the Bahamas was following down the same dead-end path as Jamaica.
According to the US International Safety and Travel alert "violence and shootings occur regularly in certain areas of Kingston and Montego Bay".
As for the Bahamas: "The Bahamas has a high crime rate. New Providence Island in particular has experienced a spike in crime that has adversely affected the travelling public... The Bahamas has the highest incidence of rape in the Caribbean according to a 2007 United Nations report on crime, violence, and development trends."
In Jamaica recently, gangs not only kill, but behead their adversaries. They then hide the head, obviously to make identification more difficult.
The Daily Gleaner reported a Jamaican police officer moaning: "This haffi stop, it has to. But the justice system not working for us (police). You hold a man for murder, him go jail, and him get bail and is back on the road again. It can't work!"
Sound familiar? No, it can't work and it won't work.
This is the very matter that will be discussed in the House of Assembly in this session as government prepares to crack down on criminals by amending the Criminal Procedure Code.
The Bahamas cannot continue to follow in Jamaica's criminal shadow.
October 11, 2011
tribune242 editorial
An International Caribbean Online Log about the news and opinions in the Americas and World. This Caribbean Blog of global reach and appeal is maintained by Bahamian Blogger - Dennis Dames with all readers and subscribers in mind.
Showing posts with label criminals Bahamas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label criminals Bahamas. Show all posts
Friday, October 14, 2011
Monday, September 26, 2011
Bahamas: Despite escalating crime, career criminals are being released on bail by the courts - many of them contributing to the rising crime figures by retaliatory murders
Public supports Turnquest's comments on judiciary
tribune242 editorial
Nassau, The Bahamas
EVERYONE in authority has been creeping around on cats paws evading a subject that is agitating Bahamians. Despite escalating crime, career criminals are being released on bail by the courts - many of them contributing to the rising crime figures by retaliatory murders.
Finally, National Security Minister Tommy Turnquest had the guts to call a spade a spade. Speaking at a West Nassau Rotary meeting on Thursday, Mr Turnquest said, while not wanting to encroach on the independence of the judicial system, it was his opinion that some judges were far too "liberal" when it came to granting bail to career criminals and those accused of serious offences. He believed that this practice contributed "greatly" to the country's escalating crime problem. He is correct in this belief and he has the support of both the police and the public.
How can any government control a crime situation when as quickly as an accused person with a violent criminal record is taken before the courts he is given bail and returned to the streets looking for trouble -- and, in some cases, the elimination of witnesses who might testify against him.
Pushed under questioning about bail by a Tribune reporter, Mr Turnquest was provoked into uttering a statement that he later regretted. "Liberally they have administered that -- it concerns me greatly -- if we had a system as they do in New York, where judges are elected, many of them would have been chased out of town."
Although he retracted these words, Bahamians would not have done so -- they would have agreed with him.
We also agree with Chief Justice Sir Michael Barnett that these particular words were "unfortunate."
"I'm always concerned," said Sir Michael, "when people attack the judiciary because persons have to be careful in what they say, so as not to undermine the public confidence in those of us who serve in judicial office."
We also agree with this statement, but only in so far as the judiciary understands that it too has to be responsible in its judgments to protect a community in crisis. We agree with the community that many judicial officers have failed them. The courts are not responsible for the country's crime -- there are many causes going back many years --however, no one can deny that there are times when the courts have been part of the problem. It is true that the judiciary should not be criticised, but on the other hand they should be careful not to give legitimate cause for criticism. The legal fraternity should certainly understand that responsibility is not one-sided.
However, what is most unfortunate in all of this is that a serious matter has become political. This certainly does not help.
In criticising Mr Turnquest in Friday's Tribune the PLP statement said: "By its own yardstick, the FNM has compromised the independence of the judiciary by failing in the past two years to review judicial salaries as is required by the Judges Remuneration and Pensions Act."
Is the PLP perchance insinuating that until judges' salaries are raised they are not going to perform satisfactorily? If so, this statement is the highest insult that can be made to the Bench.
What is interesting is that when the PLP was the government, its attorney general and minister of legal affairs was making the same complaint as Mr Turnquest.
This is what Minister of Legal Affairs Allyson Maynard Gibson in her fight for "swift justice" had to say on May 19, 2006:
"Today I reiterate that the Swift Justice initiative, the assurance that offenders and would be offenders will be swiftly caught, swiftly tried and swiftly punished, will greatly contribute to breaking the back of crime and the fear of crime.
"Law-abiding people in The Bahamas have every right to expect that they will be safe in their homes and as they go from place to place on our streets."
And then she said: "The Commissioner of Police has already indicated his concern about the disturbing trend of serious offences being committed while people are out on bail.
"In conversations with Magistrates, those before whom most Bail applications are made, they said they are often shocked to see how many people whose request for bail was denied by them (Magistrates) are back before them requesting bail for another offence committed while out on bail. These people had gone to the Supreme Court and been granted bail."
Here we have lower courts pointing the finger of blame at a higher court. We don't recall hearing at that time that Mrs Gibson was undermining the court system by her revelations. Why now that the tables of government have been turned?
Mrs Gibson then gave examples of persons on bail who had gone on to commit other crimes while awaiting their day in court. She also shared statistics on crimes using firearms.
As a result she proposed an amendment to the Criminal Law Miscellaneous (Amendment) Bill, 2006, to take care of the magistrates' complaints against Supreme Court judges. She proposed that there be a "new section 8A to provide for a right of appeal to the Court of Appeal by the prosecution or a person (accused or convicted), as the case may be where bail has been granted or refused to that person by the Supreme Court or where an application by the prosecution to revoke bail has been denied.
"This right of appeal by the prosecution," she said, "is particularly important as statistics have shown that persons, while on bail take not only the opportunity to abscond but more importantly to commit further crimes. The police have indicated that persons out on bail sometimes interfere with witnesses either by themselves or through their acquaintances."
This was the opinion of the PLP when it was the government. This is also the position of the Ingraham government. The difference is that Mr Turnquest had the temerity to express the problem in blunt terms on Thursday.
Prime Minister Ingraham will now address the issue in a state broadcast on Monday, October 3.
September 26, 2011
tribune242 editorial
tribune242 editorial
Nassau, The Bahamas
EVERYONE in authority has been creeping around on cats paws evading a subject that is agitating Bahamians. Despite escalating crime, career criminals are being released on bail by the courts - many of them contributing to the rising crime figures by retaliatory murders.
Finally, National Security Minister Tommy Turnquest had the guts to call a spade a spade. Speaking at a West Nassau Rotary meeting on Thursday, Mr Turnquest said, while not wanting to encroach on the independence of the judicial system, it was his opinion that some judges were far too "liberal" when it came to granting bail to career criminals and those accused of serious offences. He believed that this practice contributed "greatly" to the country's escalating crime problem. He is correct in this belief and he has the support of both the police and the public.
How can any government control a crime situation when as quickly as an accused person with a violent criminal record is taken before the courts he is given bail and returned to the streets looking for trouble -- and, in some cases, the elimination of witnesses who might testify against him.
Pushed under questioning about bail by a Tribune reporter, Mr Turnquest was provoked into uttering a statement that he later regretted. "Liberally they have administered that -- it concerns me greatly -- if we had a system as they do in New York, where judges are elected, many of them would have been chased out of town."
Although he retracted these words, Bahamians would not have done so -- they would have agreed with him.
We also agree with Chief Justice Sir Michael Barnett that these particular words were "unfortunate."
"I'm always concerned," said Sir Michael, "when people attack the judiciary because persons have to be careful in what they say, so as not to undermine the public confidence in those of us who serve in judicial office."
We also agree with this statement, but only in so far as the judiciary understands that it too has to be responsible in its judgments to protect a community in crisis. We agree with the community that many judicial officers have failed them. The courts are not responsible for the country's crime -- there are many causes going back many years --however, no one can deny that there are times when the courts have been part of the problem. It is true that the judiciary should not be criticised, but on the other hand they should be careful not to give legitimate cause for criticism. The legal fraternity should certainly understand that responsibility is not one-sided.
However, what is most unfortunate in all of this is that a serious matter has become political. This certainly does not help.
In criticising Mr Turnquest in Friday's Tribune the PLP statement said: "By its own yardstick, the FNM has compromised the independence of the judiciary by failing in the past two years to review judicial salaries as is required by the Judges Remuneration and Pensions Act."
Is the PLP perchance insinuating that until judges' salaries are raised they are not going to perform satisfactorily? If so, this statement is the highest insult that can be made to the Bench.
What is interesting is that when the PLP was the government, its attorney general and minister of legal affairs was making the same complaint as Mr Turnquest.
This is what Minister of Legal Affairs Allyson Maynard Gibson in her fight for "swift justice" had to say on May 19, 2006:
"Today I reiterate that the Swift Justice initiative, the assurance that offenders and would be offenders will be swiftly caught, swiftly tried and swiftly punished, will greatly contribute to breaking the back of crime and the fear of crime.
"Law-abiding people in The Bahamas have every right to expect that they will be safe in their homes and as they go from place to place on our streets."
And then she said: "The Commissioner of Police has already indicated his concern about the disturbing trend of serious offences being committed while people are out on bail.
"In conversations with Magistrates, those before whom most Bail applications are made, they said they are often shocked to see how many people whose request for bail was denied by them (Magistrates) are back before them requesting bail for another offence committed while out on bail. These people had gone to the Supreme Court and been granted bail."
Here we have lower courts pointing the finger of blame at a higher court. We don't recall hearing at that time that Mrs Gibson was undermining the court system by her revelations. Why now that the tables of government have been turned?
Mrs Gibson then gave examples of persons on bail who had gone on to commit other crimes while awaiting their day in court. She also shared statistics on crimes using firearms.
As a result she proposed an amendment to the Criminal Law Miscellaneous (Amendment) Bill, 2006, to take care of the magistrates' complaints against Supreme Court judges. She proposed that there be a "new section 8A to provide for a right of appeal to the Court of Appeal by the prosecution or a person (accused or convicted), as the case may be where bail has been granted or refused to that person by the Supreme Court or where an application by the prosecution to revoke bail has been denied.
"This right of appeal by the prosecution," she said, "is particularly important as statistics have shown that persons, while on bail take not only the opportunity to abscond but more importantly to commit further crimes. The police have indicated that persons out on bail sometimes interfere with witnesses either by themselves or through their acquaintances."
This was the opinion of the PLP when it was the government. This is also the position of the Ingraham government. The difference is that Mr Turnquest had the temerity to express the problem in blunt terms on Thursday.
Prime Minister Ingraham will now address the issue in a state broadcast on Monday, October 3.
September 26, 2011
tribune242 editorial
Thursday, September 22, 2011
The Bahamas police are doing their job, but the Bahamian courts are soft on law breakers
Tough laws promised to keep criminals in prison
tribune242 editorial
Nassau, The Bahamas
AN EXASPERATED Police Commissioner yesterday called for stiffer penalties for law breakers.
He said that criminals were not taking the law seriously because punishments were too light. In other words criminals were just playing a catch-me-if-you can game with the police, while wreaking vengeance on society.
The Commissioner was asked by the press whether the police were doing enough to stop the bloodshed -- which with 100 murders made Bahamian history over the weekend. As we wrote this column last night a report flashed across our screen that two more persons- a man and a woman- had just been shot in Nassau Village. They were taken to hospital - the man in serious condition, the woman stable.
One could almost see the Commissioner biting his tongue at yesterday's conference as he tried to gingerly skirt the reporter's question.
He said police officers were arresting the suspects, but after a person was charged it was out of their hands and up to the courts. He said he did not want to speak on the issue in too much detail.
He might not want to elaborate on what is a sore point in police ranks, but we shall do it for him.
The answer simply put is: The police are doing their job, but the courts are not.
Let's look at a five-day period to give our readers some idea of what is happening.
Between July 12 and 17th this year 39 prisoners were released from HM Prison by the courts.
Of this number 22 of them were in prison on remand. The courts gave them bail and released them.
Of these, six were charged with murder and at least three of them went before the magistrate's court with a well established criminal record.
Also among the 22 released onto the streets within a five-day period were persons charged with attempted murder, conspiracy to murder, armed robbery, rape, housebreaking, possession of firearms and drugs, causing grievous harm, fraud and forgery. Many of them have prison records, most of them for violence. Four of them were fitted with electronic monitoring devices.
Examining their records it is obvious that they have been sent back into society without any hope of finding a job or earning an honest crust of bread to keep them alive until their court date. And so what do they do?
We leave it to our readers to answer that question. It is easy to connect the dots and understand what is happening in the country. Commissioner Greenslade has already connected the dots, but does not want to talk about the picture they present -- at least not in public.
In an England gone soft on law breakers, a sudden outbreak, mainly by youth, of rioting and destruction last month, quickly brought legislators to their senses. Vowing to stop the "slow-motion moral collapse" of his country, Prime Minister David Cameron demanded stiff penalties for law breakers. The courts immediately responded, so much so that the weak-hearted are sniffling that the law is going too far. But Cameron is taking no nonsense. He has vowed to introduce laws to "crack down on lawlessness and promote a responsible society."
He directed his cabinet to look for ways to combat a "broken society" in which "fathers had abdicated responsibility for their children, schools had given up on discipline and crimes had gone unpunished."
The courts' harsh sentences were intended to reflect the authorities' anger at the looting, burning and murder that raged through London and spread to other cities.
For example, a mother who was given a pair of shorts stolen by a rioter was jailed for five months, a student went to prison for six months for stealing a box of bottled water worth about $4, while a man was jailed for four years for posting a message on Facebook to encourage people to start a riot. Courts also remanded defendants in custody until their court hearing.
Mr Cameron was pleased that the courts had sent a tough message by stiff sentences. Across the country courts were working extra hours to deal with the offenders, which moved into the thousands.
Police Commissioner Greenslade wants sanctions tough enough to make persons afraid to carry a gun in this country because they would know that they would be removed from their family and friends for a very long time.
Since the courts don't seem inclined to step up to the plate, when the House of Assembly returns from its summer break on October 5 government plans to introduce a number of new Bills to prevent violent, repeat offenders from getting bail.
"We hope that we will provide some teeth, some additional resource, to keep these criminals behind bars," said National Security Minister Tommy Turnquest.
Some Bahamians are so agitated by the seeming indifference of the courts, that they are now suggesting that maybe there are those in the system who are trying to embarrass the government.
The situation is bad, but we hope that it is not that bad.
September 20, 2011
tribune242 editorial
tribune242 editorial
Nassau, The Bahamas
AN EXASPERATED Police Commissioner yesterday called for stiffer penalties for law breakers.
He said that criminals were not taking the law seriously because punishments were too light. In other words criminals were just playing a catch-me-if-you can game with the police, while wreaking vengeance on society.
The Commissioner was asked by the press whether the police were doing enough to stop the bloodshed -- which with 100 murders made Bahamian history over the weekend. As we wrote this column last night a report flashed across our screen that two more persons- a man and a woman- had just been shot in Nassau Village. They were taken to hospital - the man in serious condition, the woman stable.
One could almost see the Commissioner biting his tongue at yesterday's conference as he tried to gingerly skirt the reporter's question.
He said police officers were arresting the suspects, but after a person was charged it was out of their hands and up to the courts. He said he did not want to speak on the issue in too much detail.
He might not want to elaborate on what is a sore point in police ranks, but we shall do it for him.
The answer simply put is: The police are doing their job, but the courts are not.
Let's look at a five-day period to give our readers some idea of what is happening.
Between July 12 and 17th this year 39 prisoners were released from HM Prison by the courts.
Of this number 22 of them were in prison on remand. The courts gave them bail and released them.
Of these, six were charged with murder and at least three of them went before the magistrate's court with a well established criminal record.
Also among the 22 released onto the streets within a five-day period were persons charged with attempted murder, conspiracy to murder, armed robbery, rape, housebreaking, possession of firearms and drugs, causing grievous harm, fraud and forgery. Many of them have prison records, most of them for violence. Four of them were fitted with electronic monitoring devices.
Examining their records it is obvious that they have been sent back into society without any hope of finding a job or earning an honest crust of bread to keep them alive until their court date. And so what do they do?
We leave it to our readers to answer that question. It is easy to connect the dots and understand what is happening in the country. Commissioner Greenslade has already connected the dots, but does not want to talk about the picture they present -- at least not in public.
In an England gone soft on law breakers, a sudden outbreak, mainly by youth, of rioting and destruction last month, quickly brought legislators to their senses. Vowing to stop the "slow-motion moral collapse" of his country, Prime Minister David Cameron demanded stiff penalties for law breakers. The courts immediately responded, so much so that the weak-hearted are sniffling that the law is going too far. But Cameron is taking no nonsense. He has vowed to introduce laws to "crack down on lawlessness and promote a responsible society."
He directed his cabinet to look for ways to combat a "broken society" in which "fathers had abdicated responsibility for their children, schools had given up on discipline and crimes had gone unpunished."
The courts' harsh sentences were intended to reflect the authorities' anger at the looting, burning and murder that raged through London and spread to other cities.
For example, a mother who was given a pair of shorts stolen by a rioter was jailed for five months, a student went to prison for six months for stealing a box of bottled water worth about $4, while a man was jailed for four years for posting a message on Facebook to encourage people to start a riot. Courts also remanded defendants in custody until their court hearing.
Mr Cameron was pleased that the courts had sent a tough message by stiff sentences. Across the country courts were working extra hours to deal with the offenders, which moved into the thousands.
Police Commissioner Greenslade wants sanctions tough enough to make persons afraid to carry a gun in this country because they would know that they would be removed from their family and friends for a very long time.
Since the courts don't seem inclined to step up to the plate, when the House of Assembly returns from its summer break on October 5 government plans to introduce a number of new Bills to prevent violent, repeat offenders from getting bail.
"We hope that we will provide some teeth, some additional resource, to keep these criminals behind bars," said National Security Minister Tommy Turnquest.
Some Bahamians are so agitated by the seeming indifference of the courts, that they are now suggesting that maybe there are those in the system who are trying to embarrass the government.
The situation is bad, but we hope that it is not that bad.
September 20, 2011
tribune242 editorial
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Bishop Simeon Hall: The Privy Council’s recent ruling on the death penalty in the case of Maxo Tido has unwittingly said to criminals: ‘you can get away with your next crime’... it is clear that if families of murder victims are to ever have justice, The Bahamas must abandon the Privy Council...
'Abandon the Privy Council'
CANDIA DAMES
NG News Editor
thenassauguardian
candia@nasguard.com
Nassau, Bahamas
The Privy Council’s recent ruling on the death penalty in the case of Maxo Tido has unwittingly said to criminals ‘you can get away with your next crime’, according to Bishop Simeon Hall, who chaired the government-appointed National Advisory Council on Crime.
Hall said it is clear that if families of murder victims are to ever have justice, The Bahamas must abandon the Privy Council, at least for murder appeals.
One of the recommendations the Crime Council made to the Ingraham administration is to resume capital punishment.
But various Privy Council decisions over the years have set such a strict standard for the imposition of the death penalty, the government has been unable to carry out the law in this regard.
Tido was convicted of the 2002 murder of Donnell Conover. The 16-year-old was found with her skull crushed, and her body burnt.
The Privy Council said while Conover’s murder was “dreadful” and “appalling” it did not fall into the category for the worst of the worst murders and therefore the death penalty ought not apply.
“The ruling by the Privy Council raises serious questions as to what is happening,” Hall said.
“I understand to some degree the Privy Council has the last word, but certainly my big problem I’m wrestling with is what is the justice system saying to families of victims of murder, and then to persons who do the murder?
“It seems that the whole system now is lending its way to criminality. For the law lords to conclude that this was a bad murder but it’s not counted as the worst of the worst, I think it’s time for us to cry shame on the justice system.”
Conover’s mother, Laverne, who recently met with Bishop Hall on the matter, said the ruling re-opened an old wound.
“The murderers have all the rights,” said Mrs. Conover, who added that she learnt of the ruling last week via the evening television newscast.
She told The Nassau Guardian that her daughter was so mutilated she was only able to identify her by her nose.
“What I would like to know is what is the worst of the worst because murder is murder. If this is not the worst of the worst, could somebody explain to me what is the worst of the worst?”
Conover said the murder tore her whole family apart — she and her husband subsequently divorced, one of her sons is on the run from the law, and the other children have had their own emotional challenges.
She said life has not been the same since.
“When I reached the police station and they told me, I was just not myself anymore, especially when I had to go to the morgue and saw what I saw,” Conover said.
“What I saw at the morgue, I don’t know what that was because really it was not my daughter.
“I don’t know what that was because a dog’s head wouldn’t have looked the way her head looked. She had no face, one big bone sticking up, they burnt her over her body.
”How do they expect me as a mother to deal with this and to know Maxo is in prison living?”
While the Privy Council quashed Tido’s death sentence, it upheld his murder conviction and ordered that he be re-sentenced.
In 2009, the government was preparing to read a death warrant to him.
Hall pointed out that a study by Police Sergeant Chaswell Hanna noted that in a five-year period when 349 murders were recorded in The Bahamas, there were only 10 murder convictions and two death sentences issued.
“Last year was a record number of murders and I understand that we had no more than two or three convictions,” Hall said. “This disparity between criminal behavior and the justice system, is it the police, is it the lawyers, is it the justice system?”
He said the law lords of the Privy Council are clearly out of touch with what is happening in The Bahamas.
“How is this family to swallow this latest ruling?” he asked.
“...It is very difficult to remain philosophical on murder now. The criminals seem to be getting the better end of the stick and families of murder victims seem to be left — as this family — totally disintegrated.”
Hall noted that the level of violent crime has worsened in the last couple years.
“It is true that part of the problem is in fact the social culture we face as a community, but at the same time I think Parliament and the lawmakers must take draconian measures to face this nightmare we are presently confronted with,” he said.
“It is true that the current minister of national security has adopted half of the things we suggested, but it seems to be getting worse. And you feel embarrassed that you served on this thing and [crime] seems to be getting worse.”
Jun 20, 2011
thenassauguardian
CANDIA DAMES
NG News Editor
thenassauguardian
candia@nasguard.com
Nassau, Bahamas
The Privy Council’s recent ruling on the death penalty in the case of Maxo Tido has unwittingly said to criminals ‘you can get away with your next crime’, according to Bishop Simeon Hall, who chaired the government-appointed National Advisory Council on Crime.
Hall said it is clear that if families of murder victims are to ever have justice, The Bahamas must abandon the Privy Council, at least for murder appeals.
One of the recommendations the Crime Council made to the Ingraham administration is to resume capital punishment.
But various Privy Council decisions over the years have set such a strict standard for the imposition of the death penalty, the government has been unable to carry out the law in this regard.
Tido was convicted of the 2002 murder of Donnell Conover. The 16-year-old was found with her skull crushed, and her body burnt.
The Privy Council said while Conover’s murder was “dreadful” and “appalling” it did not fall into the category for the worst of the worst murders and therefore the death penalty ought not apply.
“The ruling by the Privy Council raises serious questions as to what is happening,” Hall said.
“I understand to some degree the Privy Council has the last word, but certainly my big problem I’m wrestling with is what is the justice system saying to families of victims of murder, and then to persons who do the murder?
“It seems that the whole system now is lending its way to criminality. For the law lords to conclude that this was a bad murder but it’s not counted as the worst of the worst, I think it’s time for us to cry shame on the justice system.”
Conover’s mother, Laverne, who recently met with Bishop Hall on the matter, said the ruling re-opened an old wound.
“The murderers have all the rights,” said Mrs. Conover, who added that she learnt of the ruling last week via the evening television newscast.
She told The Nassau Guardian that her daughter was so mutilated she was only able to identify her by her nose.
“What I would like to know is what is the worst of the worst because murder is murder. If this is not the worst of the worst, could somebody explain to me what is the worst of the worst?”
Conover said the murder tore her whole family apart — she and her husband subsequently divorced, one of her sons is on the run from the law, and the other children have had their own emotional challenges.
She said life has not been the same since.
“When I reached the police station and they told me, I was just not myself anymore, especially when I had to go to the morgue and saw what I saw,” Conover said.
“What I saw at the morgue, I don’t know what that was because really it was not my daughter.
“I don’t know what that was because a dog’s head wouldn’t have looked the way her head looked. She had no face, one big bone sticking up, they burnt her over her body.
”How do they expect me as a mother to deal with this and to know Maxo is in prison living?”
While the Privy Council quashed Tido’s death sentence, it upheld his murder conviction and ordered that he be re-sentenced.
In 2009, the government was preparing to read a death warrant to him.
Hall pointed out that a study by Police Sergeant Chaswell Hanna noted that in a five-year period when 349 murders were recorded in The Bahamas, there were only 10 murder convictions and two death sentences issued.
“Last year was a record number of murders and I understand that we had no more than two or three convictions,” Hall said. “This disparity between criminal behavior and the justice system, is it the police, is it the lawyers, is it the justice system?”
He said the law lords of the Privy Council are clearly out of touch with what is happening in The Bahamas.
“How is this family to swallow this latest ruling?” he asked.
“...It is very difficult to remain philosophical on murder now. The criminals seem to be getting the better end of the stick and families of murder victims seem to be left — as this family — totally disintegrated.”
Hall noted that the level of violent crime has worsened in the last couple years.
“It is true that part of the problem is in fact the social culture we face as a community, but at the same time I think Parliament and the lawmakers must take draconian measures to face this nightmare we are presently confronted with,” he said.
“It is true that the current minister of national security has adopted half of the things we suggested, but it seems to be getting worse. And you feel embarrassed that you served on this thing and [crime] seems to be getting worse.”
Jun 20, 2011
thenassauguardian
Thursday, April 21, 2011
The Bahamas has acknowledged that its criminal justice system needs help
Adopting laws against organized crime
thenassauguardian editorial
The annual drug report prepared by the United States government usually provides interesting commentary on the state of drug trafficking to and through The Bahamas.
In the 2011 report, the U.S. government again made suggestions to the Bahamian government to reform the criminal justice system in this country.
“However, a need still exists to reduce the long delays in resolving extradition requests and other criminal cases as an existing trend of law enforcement successes have been undermined by an overburdened Bahamian legal system,” said the U.S. State Department in the report.
“As mentioned in previous annual reports, we continue to encourage The Bahamas to increase the resources and manpower available to prosecutors, judges, and magistrates.”
The Bahamas has acknowledged that its criminal justice system needs help.
The government has set in motion a series of reforms aimed at reducing the backlog of cases before the court and speeding up the rate of prosecution in the country.
The U.S. made another suggestion in the report that should be considered.
The State Department noted that the country lacks legislation criminalizing participation in an organized criminal group.
The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO Act) is a U.S. federal law that provides for long criminal sentences and civil penalties for actions performed as part of an ongoing criminal organization.
Simply put, those proven to be involved with an organized crime group are jailed for long terms.
The U.S. government has used these laws effectively against the mafia. In The Bahamas, no such law exists.
According to the drug report, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and Operation Bahamas Turks and Caicos estimate that there are 12 to 15 major drug trafficking organizations operating in The Bahamas.
A RICO law in The Bahamas would provide another tool to local law enforcement to take down some of these drug gangs.
However, local police and prosecutors would need to learn to conduct more comprehensive investigations for such a law to work.
Rather than arresting one criminal for one offense, investigators and prosecutors would need to build a case against entire organizations. Evidence would need to be marshaled chronicling the various crimes it commits. The actors in the criminal activity would then need to be defined and linked to the criminal organization.
Comprehensive indictments would follow and large numbers of criminals would be brought to court at the same time.
These investigations could take years. But when done well, they cripple or dismantle entire criminal organizations.
For such a thing to work, The Bahamas would also need to change its overall prosecutorial response to drug trafficking. Traffickers are currently prosecuted in Magistrates Court where the maximum sentence is five years in jail.
Some smugglers have been found in possession of millions of dollars work of cocaine and they have only faced that five-year sentence, or less if they pleaded guilty.
The law needs to prosecute based on weight. Those found in possession of large quantities of drugs should face trial in the Supreme Court where serious penalties can be issued. RICO prosecutions, if adopted, would also take place in the Supreme Court.
Organized crime is a threat to democracy. Those who do not believe this need only look at Mexico. The cartels there are at war with the state. And in some jurisdictions in that country, the cartels are winning the war.
Since Mexican President Felipe Calderon launched his war on the cartels in 2006, more than 30,000 people have been killed in drug-related violence.
The Bahamas must consider legislative tools such as the RICO law in the U.S. to assist in the local fight against narco-trafficking.
We cannot just continue to hope that the U.S. requests the extradition of our major drug dealers. We must develop the capacity to lock them up for long periods of time in this country.
4/20/2011
thenassauguardian editorial
thenassauguardian editorial
The annual drug report prepared by the United States government usually provides interesting commentary on the state of drug trafficking to and through The Bahamas.
In the 2011 report, the U.S. government again made suggestions to the Bahamian government to reform the criminal justice system in this country.
“However, a need still exists to reduce the long delays in resolving extradition requests and other criminal cases as an existing trend of law enforcement successes have been undermined by an overburdened Bahamian legal system,” said the U.S. State Department in the report.
“As mentioned in previous annual reports, we continue to encourage The Bahamas to increase the resources and manpower available to prosecutors, judges, and magistrates.”
The Bahamas has acknowledged that its criminal justice system needs help.
The government has set in motion a series of reforms aimed at reducing the backlog of cases before the court and speeding up the rate of prosecution in the country.
The U.S. made another suggestion in the report that should be considered.
The State Department noted that the country lacks legislation criminalizing participation in an organized criminal group.
The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO Act) is a U.S. federal law that provides for long criminal sentences and civil penalties for actions performed as part of an ongoing criminal organization.
Simply put, those proven to be involved with an organized crime group are jailed for long terms.
The U.S. government has used these laws effectively against the mafia. In The Bahamas, no such law exists.
According to the drug report, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and Operation Bahamas Turks and Caicos estimate that there are 12 to 15 major drug trafficking organizations operating in The Bahamas.
A RICO law in The Bahamas would provide another tool to local law enforcement to take down some of these drug gangs.
However, local police and prosecutors would need to learn to conduct more comprehensive investigations for such a law to work.
Rather than arresting one criminal for one offense, investigators and prosecutors would need to build a case against entire organizations. Evidence would need to be marshaled chronicling the various crimes it commits. The actors in the criminal activity would then need to be defined and linked to the criminal organization.
Comprehensive indictments would follow and large numbers of criminals would be brought to court at the same time.
These investigations could take years. But when done well, they cripple or dismantle entire criminal organizations.
For such a thing to work, The Bahamas would also need to change its overall prosecutorial response to drug trafficking. Traffickers are currently prosecuted in Magistrates Court where the maximum sentence is five years in jail.
Some smugglers have been found in possession of millions of dollars work of cocaine and they have only faced that five-year sentence, or less if they pleaded guilty.
The law needs to prosecute based on weight. Those found in possession of large quantities of drugs should face trial in the Supreme Court where serious penalties can be issued. RICO prosecutions, if adopted, would also take place in the Supreme Court.
Organized crime is a threat to democracy. Those who do not believe this need only look at Mexico. The cartels there are at war with the state. And in some jurisdictions in that country, the cartels are winning the war.
Since Mexican President Felipe Calderon launched his war on the cartels in 2006, more than 30,000 people have been killed in drug-related violence.
The Bahamas must consider legislative tools such as the RICO law in the U.S. to assist in the local fight against narco-trafficking.
We cannot just continue to hope that the U.S. requests the extradition of our major drug dealers. We must develop the capacity to lock them up for long periods of time in this country.
4/20/2011
thenassauguardian editorial
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Bahamas: ...a lack of swift justice is a hard pill to swallow
The need for swift justice
thenassauguardian editorial
Is there such a thing as swift justice?
The idea behind swift justice is to capture, prosecute and take immediate action on those found guilty of serious crimes. Once that is done, the trend of thought suggests it would make would-be criminals think twice about their actions.
Swift justice will also go a long way in helping members of the public feel a little safer. Police officers have often complained about having done their part in capturing criminals, but they feel that the system betrays them by giving bail to individuals accused of serious crimes like murder.
They’ve complained that even individuals charged with crimes such as housebreaking or assault are given bail too easily and too quickly.
For police officers who are committed to cleaning up the streets, a lack of swift justice is a hard pill to swallow.
No doubt swift justice would help to clean out the backlog of cases that are currently before the courts. Some believe that once the courts can quickly deal with small matters before them, by handing out swift justice, it would give them more time and effort to concentrate on solving serious matters before the courts.
Why should a petty theft be a matter before the courts for months or even years? If all of the evidence and facts are there to convict, then why hold up the court by putting off the case?
That is where swift justice must prevail.
Of course, in all of this the key element would be having all of the evidence and facts to prosecute a case and get a conviction. While justice must be swift, it must also be just.
There must be no room for doubt or guessing, especially when it comes to serious matters like murder, attempted murder, kidnapping or assault. The evidence must be crystal clear.
Perhaps it is this inability of the system to present credible evidence and facts that forces cases to be pushed back or be held before the courts for an extended period of time.
More work must be done by prosecutors in presenting evidence that would expedite swift justice.
A delay in justice forces the hand of the people to seek their own justice, which leads to more problems.
Because of delayed justice many Bahamians have chosen to attempt to take the law into their own hands, seeking their own justice.
Swift Justice must work in the best interest of all. Victims must feel that the system and the law is there to protect them, not frustrate them.
11/15/2010
thenassauguardian editorial
thenassauguardian editorial
Is there such a thing as swift justice?
The idea behind swift justice is to capture, prosecute and take immediate action on those found guilty of serious crimes. Once that is done, the trend of thought suggests it would make would-be criminals think twice about their actions.
Swift justice will also go a long way in helping members of the public feel a little safer. Police officers have often complained about having done their part in capturing criminals, but they feel that the system betrays them by giving bail to individuals accused of serious crimes like murder.
They’ve complained that even individuals charged with crimes such as housebreaking or assault are given bail too easily and too quickly.
For police officers who are committed to cleaning up the streets, a lack of swift justice is a hard pill to swallow.
No doubt swift justice would help to clean out the backlog of cases that are currently before the courts. Some believe that once the courts can quickly deal with small matters before them, by handing out swift justice, it would give them more time and effort to concentrate on solving serious matters before the courts.
Why should a petty theft be a matter before the courts for months or even years? If all of the evidence and facts are there to convict, then why hold up the court by putting off the case?
That is where swift justice must prevail.
Of course, in all of this the key element would be having all of the evidence and facts to prosecute a case and get a conviction. While justice must be swift, it must also be just.
There must be no room for doubt or guessing, especially when it comes to serious matters like murder, attempted murder, kidnapping or assault. The evidence must be crystal clear.
Perhaps it is this inability of the system to present credible evidence and facts that forces cases to be pushed back or be held before the courts for an extended period of time.
More work must be done by prosecutors in presenting evidence that would expedite swift justice.
A delay in justice forces the hand of the people to seek their own justice, which leads to more problems.
Because of delayed justice many Bahamians have chosen to attempt to take the law into their own hands, seeking their own justice.
Swift Justice must work in the best interest of all. Victims must feel that the system and the law is there to protect them, not frustrate them.
11/15/2010
thenassauguardian editorial
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Bahamas: 'Operation Ceasefire' worth investigating
Tribune242 Editorial:
IN THIS column yesterday we discussed another approach to crime, one that would tap into a community's social problems and force criminals -- especially those operating in gangs -- to take responsibility, not only individually, but also as a group, for the error of their ways.
A Scottish police woman, impressed by the results that "Operation Ceasefire" was having in subduing Boston's criminals, tried to convince the Strathclyde police department, which included Glasgow, a city plagued by 3,500 gang members, ranging in age from 11 to 23, to explore the possibilities of adapting the programme to the needs of Glasgow.
Her colleagues were sceptical, writes Gavin Knight, in "The Week", a weekly London publication. They believed that Boston gang crime was driven by the control of the drug markets, with guns the enforcers, and gang members mainly African-Americans. They believed that Glasgow's crime was different. Police woman, Karyn McCluskey, disagreed. She was convinced that the "macho street code and group dynamics were the same." McCluskey said when she sat in on Boston gang trials she found that "the majority of the fights and murders were about respect. They weren't about control of the drugs market. Fights over girlfriends. Fights over territory. You've come into my area -- exactly what we have in Glasgow."
She was determined to try out Harvard-educated David Kennedy's "Operation Ceasefire". Kennedy flew to Strathclyde to convince McCluskey's colleagues. The £5 million needed to fund the project was raised. People were brought together from justice, government, housing, careers, education, social work, health and the community. After 18 months of planning, the Strathclyde police were ready for the first call-in. It was held in the Glasgow sheriff's court on October 24, 2008 and was opened by the sheriff.
Wrote Gavin Knight:
"Through a cordon of four mounted police at the entrance, 120 gang members were escorted into the courtroom by police in riot gear. A police helicopter hovered overhead and constables cruised up and down the Clyde. 'The chief of police stands up first. He gives a hard-edged message,' McCluskey recalled. 'Pictures of the gangs are getting flashed around on the screens. We know who you are, who you associate with, who you fight with. If we wanted, we could have a police officer outside your front door. You could see the looks on their faces. They are shocked.'"
Members of the community then spoke. An elderly man told how frightened he was to walk down the street to collect his pension. An Accident and Emergency consultant explained the difficulty in dealing with knife victims. A mother told of how her 13-year-old son was set upon by a machete-wielding gang. He tried to protect his badly damaged face, resulting in the loss of his fingers. "We had gang members crying because regardless of how good or bad their parents are -- they love their mums," McCluskey said. "That was the most powerful thing in the US, and it was the most powerful thing here too," she noted.
Another speaker had committed murder at 18. He explained the dehumanising and harrowing aspects of prison life. He told of spending his twenties in prison, "someone telling him when he can go to the toilet, when he can eat." He had a "level of remorse that speaks to them," said McCluskey.
It is too early to officially evaluate the results of the Stathclyde programme, but according to anecdotal evidence it appears to be working. It is reported that the Ceasefire model has been the most successful attempt so far to reduce crime in that area, and is being suggested for other British cities.
"Operation Ceasefire" provides a helping hand for anyone who wants to leave gang life and enter the world of worthwhile achievement. Each gang member is given a phone number to call if he wants to leave a gang. The boys are assessed by a social worker, and their needs are noted, whether it be a programme to get them off drugs or get them an education. Health care, career advice and social services are also provided.
We suggest that our Commissioner of Police give Mr David Kennedy a call to explore whether "Operation Ceasefire", or some adaptation of it, might bear fruit in the Bahamas.
Our crime situation has now reached a point where almost anything is worth investigation.
April 07, 2010
tribune242
IN THIS column yesterday we discussed another approach to crime, one that would tap into a community's social problems and force criminals -- especially those operating in gangs -- to take responsibility, not only individually, but also as a group, for the error of their ways.
A Scottish police woman, impressed by the results that "Operation Ceasefire" was having in subduing Boston's criminals, tried to convince the Strathclyde police department, which included Glasgow, a city plagued by 3,500 gang members, ranging in age from 11 to 23, to explore the possibilities of adapting the programme to the needs of Glasgow.
Her colleagues were sceptical, writes Gavin Knight, in "The Week", a weekly London publication. They believed that Boston gang crime was driven by the control of the drug markets, with guns the enforcers, and gang members mainly African-Americans. They believed that Glasgow's crime was different. Police woman, Karyn McCluskey, disagreed. She was convinced that the "macho street code and group dynamics were the same." McCluskey said when she sat in on Boston gang trials she found that "the majority of the fights and murders were about respect. They weren't about control of the drugs market. Fights over girlfriends. Fights over territory. You've come into my area -- exactly what we have in Glasgow."
She was determined to try out Harvard-educated David Kennedy's "Operation Ceasefire". Kennedy flew to Strathclyde to convince McCluskey's colleagues. The £5 million needed to fund the project was raised. People were brought together from justice, government, housing, careers, education, social work, health and the community. After 18 months of planning, the Strathclyde police were ready for the first call-in. It was held in the Glasgow sheriff's court on October 24, 2008 and was opened by the sheriff.
Wrote Gavin Knight:
"Through a cordon of four mounted police at the entrance, 120 gang members were escorted into the courtroom by police in riot gear. A police helicopter hovered overhead and constables cruised up and down the Clyde. 'The chief of police stands up first. He gives a hard-edged message,' McCluskey recalled. 'Pictures of the gangs are getting flashed around on the screens. We know who you are, who you associate with, who you fight with. If we wanted, we could have a police officer outside your front door. You could see the looks on their faces. They are shocked.'"
Members of the community then spoke. An elderly man told how frightened he was to walk down the street to collect his pension. An Accident and Emergency consultant explained the difficulty in dealing with knife victims. A mother told of how her 13-year-old son was set upon by a machete-wielding gang. He tried to protect his badly damaged face, resulting in the loss of his fingers. "We had gang members crying because regardless of how good or bad their parents are -- they love their mums," McCluskey said. "That was the most powerful thing in the US, and it was the most powerful thing here too," she noted.
Another speaker had committed murder at 18. He explained the dehumanising and harrowing aspects of prison life. He told of spending his twenties in prison, "someone telling him when he can go to the toilet, when he can eat." He had a "level of remorse that speaks to them," said McCluskey.
It is too early to officially evaluate the results of the Stathclyde programme, but according to anecdotal evidence it appears to be working. It is reported that the Ceasefire model has been the most successful attempt so far to reduce crime in that area, and is being suggested for other British cities.
"Operation Ceasefire" provides a helping hand for anyone who wants to leave gang life and enter the world of worthwhile achievement. Each gang member is given a phone number to call if he wants to leave a gang. The boys are assessed by a social worker, and their needs are noted, whether it be a programme to get them off drugs or get them an education. Health care, career advice and social services are also provided.
We suggest that our Commissioner of Police give Mr David Kennedy a call to explore whether "Operation Ceasefire", or some adaptation of it, might bear fruit in the Bahamas.
Our crime situation has now reached a point where almost anything is worth investigation.
April 07, 2010
tribune242
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Bahamas: Crime solution needs a new approach
Tribune242 Editorial:
AFTER BEING off the island for the past two weeks we have returned to the same old story -- crime, crime and more crime. The killings, armed robberies and drug offences have been interrupted only by a freak tornado that brought tragedy to several Freeport families, and the signing of the Baha Mar $2.6 billion loan agreement with its Chinese partners for the redevelopment of Cable Beach, which, hopefully will translate into more jobs for unemployed Bahamians. On completion 6,500 direct jobs with 1,500 related industry jobs have been projected.
It isn't as though the police are not doing a good job in tracking down the criminal.
It isn't as though more members of the public are not stepping up to the plate with information to help the police in their investigations. It isn't as though committees are not being formed to try to find a solution to "our crime problem." All this is being done, but crime continues unabated.
A retired member of the police force believes that a successful programme will help if it can probe into the community's anti-social difficulties and find a solution that will embarrass the criminal into becoming a useful part of society.
Somehow the wayward have to be made to understand the damage they are doing to their country --the economy is now in a tailspin with crime threatening to shut off its very lifeblood, tourism.
It is true that there are hardened criminals who cannot be reached with such an argument.
We recall many years ago one of our Psychology professors likening this type of criminal to a product that arrives from the factory with an intrinsic flaw, the only remedy being to return it to the factory for remoulding.
In other words, these criminals are hopeless cases, who have to be institutionalised for society's protection. However, there are those for whom there is hope, and these are the ones for whom programmes have to be found to divert them from their evil ways.
The Bahamian police officer believes that many of today's programmes are ineffective. Firstly, it has to be decided what Bahamians are looking for and what they hope to achieve. They then have to discover whether their plan of attack is workable. If so, the plan has to be implemented with enthusiasm and determination -- not the half-measures given to most programmes today. In other words society has to be involved and understand that its members have to be serious about dealing with its social ills.
This line of thought recalled an article sent to us in January by a Tribune reader who believed we might "find it interesting and perhaps relevant to the current crime situation in the Bahamas." The article referred to was published in "The Week," a British publication.
The programme is very relevant and was along the lines that the Bahamian officer was suggesting. It is certainly worthy of investigation.
A Strathclyde police woman heard of the programme when police were faced with 71 murders in that region of Scotland. Most of the murders were committed in Glasgow, "making it the most violent city in Europe," said the magazine's article. Most of the deaths were committed by one-on-one battles among rival gangs. It was discovered that Glasgow has 170 gangs with 3,500 members, ranging in age from 11 to 23.
The police woman had heard of Operation Ceasefire, spearheaded by David Kennedy, a Harvard academic, in Boston, who "seeing crack-ravaged Boston housing projects in the 1980s, dedicated himself to researching new ideas in community-based policing. Boston's gang-related youth murders rose by 23 per cent, "The Week" reported.
Gavin Knight of "The Week" wrote:
"Under Kennedy's guidance, police, youth workers and other members of the project meticulously researched the violence. Who was attacking whom? Which gang members were in prison? The research took a year to complete. Once it was over, Kennedy's next move was to turn the gangs' group dynamics against them. He summoned gang members to face-to-face forums - 'call ins' -- which they could be compelled to attend as a condition of parole. The first was in Boston in May 1996, with a second in September that year. In the call-ins, gang members were not treated like psychopaths but like rational adults. It was businesslike and civil. The object was explicit moral engagement.
"They were told that what they were doing was causing huge damage to their families and communities and that the violence most stop. The police said that any further violence would result in the whole group being punished. In emotional appeals, members of the community, victims' relatives and ex-offenders spoke about the consequences of gang violence. And youth workers said that if they wanted out of the gang life they would be given help with jobs, housing, training and addiction problems."
The programme worked for Boston, but doubting Scotsmen questioned whether it could cross the Atlantic with any success for them.
April 06, 2010
tribune242
AFTER BEING off the island for the past two weeks we have returned to the same old story -- crime, crime and more crime. The killings, armed robberies and drug offences have been interrupted only by a freak tornado that brought tragedy to several Freeport families, and the signing of the Baha Mar $2.6 billion loan agreement with its Chinese partners for the redevelopment of Cable Beach, which, hopefully will translate into more jobs for unemployed Bahamians. On completion 6,500 direct jobs with 1,500 related industry jobs have been projected.
It isn't as though the police are not doing a good job in tracking down the criminal.
It isn't as though more members of the public are not stepping up to the plate with information to help the police in their investigations. It isn't as though committees are not being formed to try to find a solution to "our crime problem." All this is being done, but crime continues unabated.
A retired member of the police force believes that a successful programme will help if it can probe into the community's anti-social difficulties and find a solution that will embarrass the criminal into becoming a useful part of society.
Somehow the wayward have to be made to understand the damage they are doing to their country --the economy is now in a tailspin with crime threatening to shut off its very lifeblood, tourism.
It is true that there are hardened criminals who cannot be reached with such an argument.
We recall many years ago one of our Psychology professors likening this type of criminal to a product that arrives from the factory with an intrinsic flaw, the only remedy being to return it to the factory for remoulding.
In other words, these criminals are hopeless cases, who have to be institutionalised for society's protection. However, there are those for whom there is hope, and these are the ones for whom programmes have to be found to divert them from their evil ways.
The Bahamian police officer believes that many of today's programmes are ineffective. Firstly, it has to be decided what Bahamians are looking for and what they hope to achieve. They then have to discover whether their plan of attack is workable. If so, the plan has to be implemented with enthusiasm and determination -- not the half-measures given to most programmes today. In other words society has to be involved and understand that its members have to be serious about dealing with its social ills.
This line of thought recalled an article sent to us in January by a Tribune reader who believed we might "find it interesting and perhaps relevant to the current crime situation in the Bahamas." The article referred to was published in "The Week," a British publication.
The programme is very relevant and was along the lines that the Bahamian officer was suggesting. It is certainly worthy of investigation.
A Strathclyde police woman heard of the programme when police were faced with 71 murders in that region of Scotland. Most of the murders were committed in Glasgow, "making it the most violent city in Europe," said the magazine's article. Most of the deaths were committed by one-on-one battles among rival gangs. It was discovered that Glasgow has 170 gangs with 3,500 members, ranging in age from 11 to 23.
The police woman had heard of Operation Ceasefire, spearheaded by David Kennedy, a Harvard academic, in Boston, who "seeing crack-ravaged Boston housing projects in the 1980s, dedicated himself to researching new ideas in community-based policing. Boston's gang-related youth murders rose by 23 per cent, "The Week" reported.
Gavin Knight of "The Week" wrote:
"Under Kennedy's guidance, police, youth workers and other members of the project meticulously researched the violence. Who was attacking whom? Which gang members were in prison? The research took a year to complete. Once it was over, Kennedy's next move was to turn the gangs' group dynamics against them. He summoned gang members to face-to-face forums - 'call ins' -- which they could be compelled to attend as a condition of parole. The first was in Boston in May 1996, with a second in September that year. In the call-ins, gang members were not treated like psychopaths but like rational adults. It was businesslike and civil. The object was explicit moral engagement.
"They were told that what they were doing was causing huge damage to their families and communities and that the violence most stop. The police said that any further violence would result in the whole group being punished. In emotional appeals, members of the community, victims' relatives and ex-offenders spoke about the consequences of gang violence. And youth workers said that if they wanted out of the gang life they would be given help with jobs, housing, training and addiction problems."
The programme worked for Boston, but doubting Scotsmen questioned whether it could cross the Atlantic with any success for them.
April 06, 2010
tribune242
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Bahamas: Criminal justice in crisis
IN A few weeks time the Prime Minister will give his state of the nation message, which will deal with many subjects of importance. Crime will obviously feature high on his agenda.
This will be the deciding year -- either the criminals will get control or the community, the police and the judiciary will unite to return law and order to the nation.
Today the criminal seems to have the upper hand. In other words he is literally getting away with murder.
The judge who returns a person to the streets on remand is not doing that person a favour. Some would have been safer behind bars for whatever length of time they would have had to await trial. In the interim several of them have been killed.
But let's look at it from the point of view of the accused. Recently we were told by one -- a tinge of sarcastic bitterness in his voice -- "Man I just working for my lawyer!"
Translated that comment meant that he fully realised that with a criminal record he had no hope of finding a job once he was returned to the streets on remand. The reality of life was that he had to eat, secure lodging and in many cases try to support a family. Unable to work, he had to continue a life of crime, and the crime had to be lucrative enough to provide lawyer's fees against the day he was caught and had to again plead "not guilty" before the bar of justice. His future depended upon that lawyer using his debating skills and the knowledge of the law to keep him out of prison. And so for him -- and the community -- the cycle of crime continues.
There is then the even more frightening phenomenon of the intimidation of witnesses. Even from behind their prison bars witnesses are being intimidated by certain accused persons. Witnesses have often recanted through fear.
A person who has nothing to lose, but everything to gain by using his wits will go to criminal lengths to secure his freedom. And some of these men, sitting in a jail cell, are going to those criminal lengths to intimidate a community.
We have heard of a case of an accused, in jail, using a cell phone to contact a leading witness in his case to say what would happen to him if he testified. Imagine in prison with a cell phone. Imagine what would happen to trials if witnesses are silenced through fear. No one would go to prison and justice would have to take its course on the streets.
For prisoners to have cells phones in prison -- and this has been reported on many occasions in the past -- there has to be a severe breach of security at the prison. The police should do a thorough investigation and get to the bottom of this. From what we understand, this particular prisoner is not the only one who is managing his affairs from a prison cell with the aid of a cell phone.
There was another instance, which we are told took place not too long ago during a hearing in the Nassau Street magistrate's court. The accused is said to have lifted his hand showing his palm to the witness in the box. The number 186 was written on the palm.
Later the witness asked the significance of 186. The reply was that in "street language" 186 meant that the accused planned to instruct his "boys" to shoot up the witness and all his family in a "drive by."
And then there are the lawyers. Much of the case backlog is caused by lawyers, either because they are not prepared, have too many cases going on at the same time and need postponements, or are just using delaying tactics in hopes that the case will fall off the court calendar for want of many things, not the least among them the absence of witnesses. The court system not only needs an overhaul, but on the part of lawyers a return to discipline, efficiency and respect for the court's time.
As for some of the judges -- that's another story. Sometimes we wonder if they live on the same planet and are aware of what they are doing to the community when they return, not once, but twice and in a few cases three times, murder accused to the community to await trial. There have been occasions when these accused have killed each other and saved the court time, but there also have been occasions when an innocent bystander has been caught in the cross fire.
Last year Dame Joan Sawyer, Appeals Court judge, ruled that in bail decisions if a judge has to warn the bail applicant not to interfere with witnesses, then that applicant should not be granted bail.
We understand that one of that august body retorted that if that were the case then he would not give such warnings in the future for fear of the Attorney General's office applying to revoke the bail.
These are the problems that the Prime Minister and parliamentarians have to face, because legislation is obviously needed to deal with some of them.
January 04, 2010
tribune242
This will be the deciding year -- either the criminals will get control or the community, the police and the judiciary will unite to return law and order to the nation.
Today the criminal seems to have the upper hand. In other words he is literally getting away with murder.
The judge who returns a person to the streets on remand is not doing that person a favour. Some would have been safer behind bars for whatever length of time they would have had to await trial. In the interim several of them have been killed.
But let's look at it from the point of view of the accused. Recently we were told by one -- a tinge of sarcastic bitterness in his voice -- "Man I just working for my lawyer!"
Translated that comment meant that he fully realised that with a criminal record he had no hope of finding a job once he was returned to the streets on remand. The reality of life was that he had to eat, secure lodging and in many cases try to support a family. Unable to work, he had to continue a life of crime, and the crime had to be lucrative enough to provide lawyer's fees against the day he was caught and had to again plead "not guilty" before the bar of justice. His future depended upon that lawyer using his debating skills and the knowledge of the law to keep him out of prison. And so for him -- and the community -- the cycle of crime continues.
There is then the even more frightening phenomenon of the intimidation of witnesses. Even from behind their prison bars witnesses are being intimidated by certain accused persons. Witnesses have often recanted through fear.
A person who has nothing to lose, but everything to gain by using his wits will go to criminal lengths to secure his freedom. And some of these men, sitting in a jail cell, are going to those criminal lengths to intimidate a community.
We have heard of a case of an accused, in jail, using a cell phone to contact a leading witness in his case to say what would happen to him if he testified. Imagine in prison with a cell phone. Imagine what would happen to trials if witnesses are silenced through fear. No one would go to prison and justice would have to take its course on the streets.
For prisoners to have cells phones in prison -- and this has been reported on many occasions in the past -- there has to be a severe breach of security at the prison. The police should do a thorough investigation and get to the bottom of this. From what we understand, this particular prisoner is not the only one who is managing his affairs from a prison cell with the aid of a cell phone.
There was another instance, which we are told took place not too long ago during a hearing in the Nassau Street magistrate's court. The accused is said to have lifted his hand showing his palm to the witness in the box. The number 186 was written on the palm.
Later the witness asked the significance of 186. The reply was that in "street language" 186 meant that the accused planned to instruct his "boys" to shoot up the witness and all his family in a "drive by."
And then there are the lawyers. Much of the case backlog is caused by lawyers, either because they are not prepared, have too many cases going on at the same time and need postponements, or are just using delaying tactics in hopes that the case will fall off the court calendar for want of many things, not the least among them the absence of witnesses. The court system not only needs an overhaul, but on the part of lawyers a return to discipline, efficiency and respect for the court's time.
As for some of the judges -- that's another story. Sometimes we wonder if they live on the same planet and are aware of what they are doing to the community when they return, not once, but twice and in a few cases three times, murder accused to the community to await trial. There have been occasions when these accused have killed each other and saved the court time, but there also have been occasions when an innocent bystander has been caught in the cross fire.
Last year Dame Joan Sawyer, Appeals Court judge, ruled that in bail decisions if a judge has to warn the bail applicant not to interfere with witnesses, then that applicant should not be granted bail.
We understand that one of that august body retorted that if that were the case then he would not give such warnings in the future for fear of the Attorney General's office applying to revoke the bail.
These are the problems that the Prime Minister and parliamentarians have to face, because legislation is obviously needed to deal with some of them.
January 04, 2010
tribune242
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