NASSAU, Bahamas, Oct 29, CMC – Prime Minister Phillip Davis Tuesday said he remains optimistic that the authorities will be able to beat the “scourge” of people on bail for murder being killed even as the police express fears that innocent people may become collateral damage as a result of those killings.
Prime Minister Philip Davis acknowledged that it would take at least a decade to deal with the backlog of cases of the more than 170 people who are currently on bail for murder.
On Monday, Police Commissioner Clayton Fernander confirmed that a group of about 10 men were gathered at an outdoor car garage, when another vehicle and three masked men armed with automatic rifles exited the car and sprayed the group with bullets.
“What our intel is saying to us is that an individual who was able to get away was the intended target,” Fernander told reporters, adding “he is on bail for murder and he is being monitored”.
The Police Commissioner said that while the authorities have information on the killers and “we will smoke them out” he nonetheless is warning that many more people could die.
“The individuals don’t care…we have 178 young men on bail who are being monitored for murder and some other individuals who are not being monitored. So you could imagine the retaliation in there.
“If we don’t address that, to get some of those individuals behind bars for their safety, some other people will die. We don’t want any innocent people to get caught up in that,” Fernander said, appealing to the public to “please help the police.
Speaking to reporters, Prime Minister Davis said the statement by the top cop is “an overwhelming statistic” given that more than 170 people are out of bail for murder.
“And that’s only what is already in the system. Every so often, more are added to that number. The system can only accommodate so many. These trials are taking more than two and three months. So, we have 170 trials that are outstanding. What does that mean? That’s almost ten years to clean it up.”
Prime Minister Davis said that the government has brought on more judges and have made legislative changes in a bid quicken the pace of trials, adding that it will take time for some of the changes to take root.
“We think at the end of the day we will beat this scrouge,” he said.
The Bahamas has recorded 102 murders so far this year.
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