So, crime is up, the U.S issued a travel warning, and government insists that The Bahamas is a safe place… I know. However, as I grow tired of hearing the constant cries and complaints and debates about government and if more can be done, I stop to wonder, what am I doing to help combat crime?
Yes, the government has a role to play in the fight against crime. The government funds the Royal Bahamas Police Force (RBPF), implements policies and structures that help to prevent crime, invests in technology and equipment to help catch and prosecute criminals and several other things that help to keep our communities safe.
But that’s not enough.
Yes, RBPF has a role to play in the fight against crime. Police officers are our front-line defense. They are the ones going on active crime scenes, conducting investigations, patrolling our communities and arresting those that break the law. Our police force has the responsibility of protecting citizens against those that decide to be outlaws.
But that’s not enough.
“Well, if the government doesn’t have the answers, neither the police force, then what is it going to take mister writer?” I’m glad that you asked.
The fight against crime is nobody’s sole responsibility. However, nothing will change until we, the people, personalize the fight against crime. Nothing will change until brothers, sisters, sons, daughters, parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles, teachers and preachers, businessmen and the workforce, and every individual in The Bahamas begins to hold one another accountable for their actions. Nothing will change until the village men begin to pour back into their own village instead of waiting on the chiefs to do it on their own.
So, what does this mean?
We must pour into those around us, strengthening their faith and trust in the one true God that this nation claims to serve. We must take the fight against crime into our own communities, businesses, schools, homes, families, and hands.
The government can’t do it alone. The police force can’t do it alone. No one can do it alone. It takes a village to fight against crime and as Ms. Dean, the principal of Pace Christian Academy, said, we all need to “do what we can, where we are.”
