Dunkley: Murder An Attack On Justice System
[Written by UBP Senator Michael Dunkley, Shadow Minister for Public Safety]
Wednesday night’s murder of a man outside a Midland Heights home – the same home that was at the centre of a Supreme Court trial – is tantamount to an attack on Bermuda’s criminal justice system.
The United Bermuda Party is alarmed by this latest turn in the downward spiral of public safety – a crisis that constitutes the gravest of threats to the island.
The situation underscores our longstanding calls for stronger Police presence and reform of the criminal justice system.
Gun violence poses an immediate and urgent threat to the economy and our way of life. There is a pressing need to restore the sense of deterrence in the streets that is essential for law and order to prevail.
The Government must provide the Police with all the funding, manpower and support necessary to get on top of the situation. At the very least the Police need funding to support all overtime operations. The BPS budget remains below what it was two years ago when gun violence began to flare out of control. This says to us that the Government remains one step behind the times.
We know the Police are aware of the ringleaders and perpetrators through its Prolific Priority Offenders system. With knowledge of their whereabouts, it is time to monitor these people 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
If you are being watched it is unlikely you are going to break laws.
This is a standard policing tactic worldwide. The only thing that prevents Bermuda’s Police Service from implementing blanket surveillance is manpower and funding support, which brings us back to government.
On a final point, we understand the community’s frustration with the lack of success in apprehending and convicting criminals. There needs to be the strongest focus on the part of government to bring about reforms for better detection of crime, effective prosecution of criminals and enhanced rehabilitation to reduce re-offending.
