Dunkley: When Politics Preceded Public Safety
[Written by Senator Michael Dunkley, Shadow Minister for Public Safety]
New Police Commissioner Michael DeSilva was on television last week announcing steps to combat crime and build public confidence in his officers.
The Commissioner announced a raft of hiring initiatives including a dozen UK officers trained in the use of firearms, an assistant commissioner from overseas with expertise in gangs, more support staff to boost analytical capabilities and case review work, as well as agreements for FBI training and information sharing.
Alongside the Police Commissioner was Public Safety Minister David Burch, who announced that “Government House, Government and the Bermuda Police Service are united in our approach and effort to combat the escalation in crime…”
The Government, he said, had approved and earmarked $1 million to make the Commissioner’s plan happen.
Hallelujah! Finally!
It wasn’t always this way.
Just a few years ago when violent crime was bubbling out of control and the roots of gun violence were spreading into communities across the island, the Premier and his Public Safety Minister were waging political war against the Governor over operational control of the Police.
It started with a June 2007 speech when Col. Burch advised the Senate he had invited the Governor:
to delegate his authority and responsibility for the Police to the Minister with responsibility for Public Safety… I am not content to perpetuate this bizarre relationship which in effect renders the Minister powerless.
This announcement came on the heels of a threat by the Premier to “suspend further business” with the Governor because of a leaked Police file on a Bermuda Housing Corporation corruption investigation.
This was the start of a so-called “constitutional battle” that continued for the rest of the year and beyond with reports of the government not attending weekly meetings on Police matters with the Governor and the Police Commissioner.
Maybe it was all a tactic to divert attention from questions about the integrity of the government in the BHC scandal. Or maybe it was a convenient issue to advance its independence agenda. Who knows.
What I do know is that the posturing began when crime was spinning out of control and the shape of things to come was becoming all too clear.
Here’s is a brief summary of what was happening at the time:
• Violent crime rates had climbed to the highest levels since 1999.
• The last quarter of 2006 had been the most violent on record
• Robbery rates were the highest in ten years, and
• Burglaries were occurring at twice the rate they were in 2000
• Gun related incidents and gang violence was on the rise.
Beneath the weight of these statistics and trends the government continued its stand-off with Government House saying it had no control, no influence on crime-fighting.
This was nonsense and in September 2007 I said so while identifying the many the tools the government had to make sure the Police had the resources to get the job done. These tools included control of the budget for all police operations – from manpower, to training, to equipment. It also included the power to consult and persuade.
“That’s the power any minister can bring to bear when he sits across the table from the Commissioner of Police or the Governor,” I said. “It’s the power to articulate exactly what the government, elected by the people, wants. This power can be significant.”
We urged Col. Burch to “stop playing constitutional games. Get down to the business of doing what is necessary to provide people with a safe environment…”
Our concerns about the government’s commitment to fighting crime did not go away. In February 2009 we were shocked to learn that the government had actually cut the Police budget by 4% to $60.5 million, $9 million less than what was spent in the 2007/08 fiscal year. In the face of a crime wave, the government was cutting back on its commitment to public safety.
What followed in 2009 and into this year is known to all: 135 shooting incidents, 30 people shot, 8 dead.
In December 2009 Minister Burch finally backed down from his demand for control of the Police Service saying: “I do not give a monkey’s who is in charge of operational control for the Police.”
That was good news at last and, we hope, the start of a healthy working relationship that was always there to be worked for the safety of all.
And so it was good to see the minister alongside the Police Commissioner last week. But there was a time when he and his government put politics before public safety and we are playing catch-up because of it.
