OBA On Crime, Gangs & Operation Ceasefire
The Government – more than 3 years after gang warfare broke out on the streets of Bermuda – is saying they “on the cusp” of implementing a strategy to deal with the situation which is not good enough, the OBA’s Jeff Baron said.
Mr Baron — the OBA’s National Security Spokesperson on Crime and C#21 candidate — said: “There continues to be a major disconnect between what is happening on the streets and what is happening in the halls of government. There has been no urgency on what is, without question, an urgent situation.”
“The threat presented by gang warfare is a threat to our way of life. It has the power to topple our economy. It has the power to retard the development of young Bermudians,” continued Mr Baron.
“One only needs to go to YouTube to understand how deep the situation is – to see children flashing gang signs and teens boasting about killing rivals.
“Bermuda is in danger, and we have a government that has been asleep at the wheel. So the first point I want to make in the press conference is that the One Bermuda Alliance views gang violence as a major threat to the country, and that we will approach it as a national emergency.”
The press conference was ended shortly after the prepared statements were read, with OBA Leader Craig Cannonier stopping it following questions about the document that recently surfaced.
Craig Cannonier’s full statement follows below:
Good afternoon Bermuda.
The One Bermuda Alliance wants a Bermuda that is safe for all its citizens.
And we are committed to working with the police and communities across the Island to make that happen.
But we have to be very clear about the challenge before us: The rise of gang violence over the past three years poses one of the most serious threats to our way of life.
It is challenging law and order.
It is cutting up the island into territories.
It makes people feel unsafe.
Parents worry for the safety of their children.
People at public events wonder if gang violence will erupt in their midst.
Gang violence is tearing at the heart of the black community
Young children are being recruited to join gangs.
And the shootings are killing young black men.
The fear is real, and the pain is real.
We need to change this; we need to do better than what we’ve been doing.
This week, the One Bermuda Alliance will speak to our public safety challenges.
Today, I have asked Jeff Baron, our National Security Shadow Board spokesman and OBA candidate for Constituency 21, to speak about an approach to the challenge of gangs – an approach that has been proven to work in other jurisdictions, and which we believe can be successfully adapted to work here in Bermuda.
-
Jeff Baron’s full statement follows below:
Thank you, Craig.
All of us know that violent gang activity has had a devastating impact on our entire community.
Since the spring of 2009, there have been:
More than 300 shooting incidents.
More than 70 people hurt.
20 killings.
Each time there is a shooting, we are affected.With each shooting, everyone in our community feels a bit more threatened, a bit less safe and a bit less sure about Bermuda.
For some members of our community, particularly young Bermudians, this rise in gang warfare means they can no longer leave their neighbourhoods without fear of being physically attacked or even shot at.
Employers understand this, and they now routinely ask job applicants whether they can travel to all parts of the Island.
Even if they are not part of a gang, gangs are affecting the employment prospects for many Bermudians, particularly the young.
It is affecting their freedom to gather, to travel.
The Government has been promising to address the issue of gang violence, but we are still waiting to see a concrete plan put in action.
In preparing for this press conference, I reviewed government statements on gangs and gang violence over the past year, and what I found is telling:
In November 2011, more than a year ago, the Government in the Speech from the Throne promised a Bermuda Ceasefire initiative.
A month later, the National Security Minister promised Bermuda would roll out its own Operation Ceasefire programme by April or May, using local gang mediators.
He said he was also considering a peace summit on gangs.
In October, just two months ago, the Government was still investigating how to approach the gang problem.
And last Monday, the Government said “a comprehensive strategy for gang mediation was on the cusp of full implementation.”
Let’s step back and think about that.
The Government – more than 3 years after gang warfare broke out on the streets of Bermuda – is telling Bermudians that only now are they “on the cusp” of implementing a strategy to deal with the situation.
It’s not good enough.
There continues to be a major disconnect between what is happening on the streets and what is happening in the halls of government. There has been no urgency on what is, without question, an urgent situation.
The Government has been telling Bermuda things are happening when they have not been happening.
Sources told us last month that the Inter-agency Gang Task Force had gone nearly a year without meeting.
And just last Monday, the National Security Minister told Bermuda that 30 people had been trained under a programme called Operation StreetSafe – the inference being that these people are now out on the job making our streets safer.
But we know this is not the case. We know the trainees’ work stopped with the training, that no deployments have been made; that the SafeStreet programme is, in effect, at a standstill.
The people of this country deserve better.
The threat presented by gang warfare is a threat to our way of life. It has the power to topple our economy. It has the power to retard the development of young Bermudians.
One only needs to go to YouTube to understand how deep the situation is – to see children flashing gang signs and teens boasting about killing rivals.
Bermuda is in danger, and we have a government that has been asleep at the wheel.
So the first point I want to make in the press conference is that the One Bermuda Alliance views gang violence as a major threat to the country, and that we will approach it as a national emergency.
This is a challenge that requires short term actions and long-term solutions. Today, I would like to talk about the short term.
And it means doing whatever it takes to stop the shootings and the killings.
We believe the best first step to achieving this is to bring Operation Ceasefire to Bermuda.
This is a Police-Community initiative that has worked in some of the most violent cities in the United States.
For example:
In Cincinnati, in 2007, after Operation Ceasefire’s first meetings with gangs, homicides fell by 24%. In 2008, they were down by 50%.
In 1990s Boston, Operation Ceasefire was associated with a near two-thirds drop in youth homicide.
The impact of Operation Ceasefire is beyond dispute. But how does it work?In a nutshell, it reaches out to gang members with both a stick and a carrot.
The ‘stick’ means warning gang members that violence will not be tolerated, and that every legal lever will be pulled to disrupt their lives when it does.
We know that many young people want a safe way out of gang life but feel trapped. This is where a ‘carrot’ is offered.
The Operation Ceasefire working group – which is community workers on the street each and every day, in close contact with gang members and their families – will be there to help make it happen.
Operation Ceasefire is the right programme at the right time for Bermuda.
Police have identified gangs, gang members and their turf, and this is essential information for the programme.
In addition, Bermuda has a fantastic community of social workers, active clergy and community activists who can be enlisted for the ‘helping hand’ side of the operation.
At the moment, as excellent as those community resources are, the approach is fragmented.
There is no overall leadership, no guidance to co-ordinating work on the social problems that give rise to gangs and crime.
Under the umbrella of Operation Ceasefire, those groups can begin working together, all pulling in the same direction to diffuse violence and pull gang members out of a life that holds no real hope for the future.
The Police-community dynamic that Operation Ceasefire develops would be new to Bermuda, but it makes sense.
The Police are doing all they can with the resources they’ve got, and we are encouraged by their progress over the past year. But they are simply dealing with what society sends their way.
It’s time to join up these two halves of a solution.
It is essential Bermuda starts working with more cohesion and teamwork on this national challenge.
The One Bermuda Alliance understands this. The Police alone cannot do it. But Bermudians, working together, can.
-
Read More About
Category: All, News, Politics, Videos
Comments (21)
Trackback URL | Comments RSS Feed
Articles that link to this one:
- Cannonier: “This Press Conference Is Over” | Bernews.com | December 3, 2012
If anyone can get us out of this gang mess I know it is Jeff Baron! He is honest, passionate, and intelligent. OBA has my vote!
Well he seems like the person they are grooming to be the future leader of the sergeants so i can see why u are riding his coat tale.
Read Baron’s words, they really tell the truth on what the PLP want you to believe verses the reality.
Forget the BS secret plan and vote OBA. Vote for Bermuda.
Mr Baron COME HERE and listen closely so you dont mis a beat,where in this side of heaven do you think you or the O.B.A. is going to come up with a plan to tackle the gang problems in Bermuda and mostly the gun violence.I have been around for sometime and let me say as a community activist and a parent of 4 grown young men and trying to keep their feet out of the street.
In Bermuda it is a known fact that no government has the powwer to deal with this situation until they are willing to deal with the root of the problem and that root is dirived from many splinter groups that all funnels back to one main root,wealth and greed.
now I always use Wall street as an example,where wealthy investors invest for great return and it is a gamble because they are not always guranteed a return but not so in the drug trade.
Over the last 10 years we have seen more and more suit and tie looking people being connected to the under world and the brains behind the drug trade,the stories we read about in our local shores only highlight the mom and pop syndrome of the trade where you got lone soldiers trying to become big,while their are those amongst us that are much more business orientated and look a lot like you and those that look like you and they take a delight at exploiting the young black race who to them are very replacable at the drop of a dime and to that end have no problem at investing their dollars in those they consider to be low lifes,because at the end of the day the middle man hired by the high arcky does the go between and would never get to know or reach Mr Big.
then we have the likes of our law enforcement and customs,who use to be accused of being on the pay roll but now that the boarders are a greater avenue of import and mostly those that look like me are deemed suspicious then it is easy for an old whit cople that is just sailing along through retirement to haul and good 10 million in here at one time of drugs the would net over tripple that amount on the streets.I have said enough and not a lot but take your damn head out of the sand and please dont be so quick to be a damn hero.
While I believe we can sit back and do nothing,I can guarantee you wont come into power and do much more then what is presently being done,I hope Colin Coxall has a journal somewhere and release’s it at some point before he leaves this world or leave instructions for it top be published shortly after.
I have lived these damn streets and know it like the back of my hand from old to new and you are a joke waiting to happen and for some fool who thinks I am being unkind and rude,get over it and Bermuda start targeting the real jackasses responsible and then we can get down to the street level and hopefully slow down or stop our young black man from being caught up in this web,that those that are really benefitting will feel the crunch.
If you think catching a few big hauls or seizing a few guns solves the problem you are and will be a laughing stock.O.B.A has no plan for gun violence because it is those that have deep pockets fueling the drug industry and where there is drugs there is guns and you can go back as far as the 60′s in Bermuda and see this is nothing new,just now they come to the surface.
@Duane Santucci – I’m sorry but I find your postings to be very cryptic. It sounds to me like you are suggesting that it’s rich white people who are bank-rolling these drug lords and so it is those same rich white people who are responsible for the plight of the poor black men who find themselves with the guns in their hands, simply victims caught up in their own chosen profession in the drug trade? Please just come right out with it because I really do want to understand what it is you are trying to say.
That is a fair assessment and I dont really answer to evryone but feel this should be answered as I do make a blanket statement of which I offer no apologies,first and foremost this is a public domain and can not be used in such a way to make liablist comments that can result in prosecutions by the courts.so with that said you can appreciate things that are spoken in part must remain just that and you the public pick the bones out of the rest.
you see if you read carefully I do admit that the real problem here has many splinter groups that all lead to the real root which is wealth and greed,to be a little more real I would say that the young black wanna be high rollers of the black society can not afford a shipment of an entire boat or yacht load of illegal drugs,that is why I call them the mom and pop syndrome of our societys drug problem.
The deep pockets are those that already have great wealth and does not engage in this industry for fancy cars and jewelry and women.the reason they have great wealth is because this is an industry to them and not a gamble.they transport what they must with the aid of those who are willing to risk it all for a better life for their selves and their families and in the end if they get caught,Mr big has a reserve that takes care of them because he is mr untouchable so he thinks until his number is called.
Just so you dont think I am dancing around your question with fruitless answers,i recommend you go to the newspaper and dig up a report that was given to them from a former top cop a few years ago that admitted the average amount of drugs that were getting into Bermuda un-seized and that which was being seized,he also gave startling facts of statistics of how much volume of drugs were being sold locally on a yearly basis and sad to say that tourism has becaome third place in our economy as the drug trade has moved in second place and International business is still at first place.
Oh it would be real interesting if we can have an update to the volume of drugs here in 2012 and the street value of the same could be given and when the facts come to the fore front,dont you ever think for one minute that some little young black or white boy has the financial backing to create such an industry in an island as small as Bermuda for the supply and demand that we have here.
Some say if i am so knowlegdable of such information take it to the authorities,nice try but some of them are the problem.so I hope this enlightens you and no I am not a drug dealer and dont have any intentions on becoming one but I am an activist that will pound the pavement and go where most dare to go,I aint looking to be no hero but I will fulfill Gods divine destiny upon my life within my life time.
Thank you for giving this explanation.
Very impressed with Baron’s knowledge and passion.
Stick to the issues OBA. Don’t fall into the PLP campaign strategy. You cannot win at that game. Stay the course. The electorate will repect you for it, win or lose.
Okay so let me get this right . . .the short term plan is to inform gang members that they will be dealt with to every extent of the law – the stick!! And then for those who want to get out of the gang life, social workers, clergy and community workers are going to wrap around them and get them out – the carrot!!!
Question:
1. Whis is training this gang task force and what is the financial expebditure related to the training and day to day operation.
2. Where are you planning to house these ex gang members that you are wrapping your arms around. Bermuda is but 22 square miles long, this is not Cincinnati or anywhere else where they can pick up and go to another state and start over.
3. What is the contingency plan??? In other words if they fail to take the carrot, the full extent of the law is already in place . . .so now what???
Here’s my issue . . . this plan sounds great coming out of his mouth and on paper, but in reality it’s not realistic. Designing and implementing a gang task force, which in essence is what he is referring to takes a great deal of training by trained and skilled persons who have a great deal of experience. Yes, these startegies have worked in Biston, New York and Cincinnati, however Bermuda is a totally different entity. It is a small community where everybody knows everybody . . .there is no where for them to go if they decide to leave the gang, unless they go to the UK . . .and that’s already in place.
I smiled when I read the participants, clergy – where the hell have the clergy been for the last three years that this has been going on. Why haven’t they stepped outside of their pulpit or parsonage and hit the streets, talking to these young men? I guess first of all they would have to figure out where to go huh.
Social Workers . . .really . . .does he know how backlogged social workers are right now with their current caseloads? Let’s put it this way, if it’s taking all of five months for a hotlined case to be investigated how and where are they going to find the time during their busy day? Oh let me guess, we are talking after hours . . .albeit their family time . . .you must be going to pay them = expenditure.
Anytime that a plan can be pulled apart this easily, it is flawed, not startegic and effective for the culture and persons it is targeted at . . .
PLP has done NOTHING, just lots of talk and a lease to CARTEL.
Do some research Mr.Baron 2007 WEED WAS DECRIMINALIZED CINCINNATI MAYBE THATS A FACTOR AS WELL..If we are all honest this has been going on since the UBP was in power..the guns have always been here but things were not as bad then as they have been in the last few years with the economy..
7 years ago gun crimes were almost unheard of. Now they are almost daily. The whole situation has been allowed to get out of hand.
Marijuana is legal in the Netherlands, but there are major problems there with gangs and crime. The country introduced measures in 2011 to restrict marijuana-related tourism, because pot tourists are regarded as a nuisance. Legalising marijuana does not automatically solve the problems.
Harry Veira of the U.B.P had a gun years ago and said it was for hunting and he only use it while he was abroad hunting and I only use his name because it came out in the public press many years ago,how many others had a hunting license back then and was allowed to have guns in their home,the point is that your comment that seven years ago guns were unheard of is a joke,my brother was prosecuted in the courts for importing guns in the 80′s,so unheard of is under statement,being used in public eye sight is more revelant,because even back then their were those who wer threaten with guns by gun man and families held against their will and to afraid to speak to the authorities.so do your research before sounding ridiculous,people is this country are not stupid if they lived it but those like you can talk stupidity when you dont have a damn clue to what you are saying and I say this on behalf of those you are insulting from the wounds of the past that came long before a P.L.P government in 1998.This is inno ways disrespect to your comments but I get sick and tired of people talking to this situation that dont have a raggedy ass clue to the depth of what it is they are dealing with.that my friend is more for the jack bunny that is going to read the above and disagree but I believe you are sincere and will get the truth of what I am not saying.
Funny how the plp are so quick to respond to ‘the secret plan’, but they haven’t bothered to respond at all to this. It is very telling where their priorities are. It actually makes me sick to my stomach. Clearly Paula Cox is cut from the same cloth as Ewart Brown since this is all unfolding under her watch. Another disgusting and divisive election! smh
Very true. You won’t find any of them getting upset about the dismal education results either. They’re too busy frothing at the mouth over an imaginary ‘report’ that Wayne Furbert suddenly remembers, 7 years after he saw it, and 2 weeks prior to the election.
OBA’S SECRET PLAN!
TAKE BERMUDA INDEPENDENT AND THEN TAKE OVER THE POLICE!
That is the only way they can do what they say they will do. Newsflah, the gov doesn’t control bablyon!
Its obvious the OBA leader with all due respect .. will be a puppet on a string cause he has no experience in running this country unlike Mr (UBP) Dunkley who does, so naturally he will have to adhere to his advice and that of his fellow (UBP) experienced Politicians which are the same ones that got us in this mess by depriving Blacks of a solid education (not only academic) while allowing drugs to be freely sold on court street in the 70′s up until the 90′s too allow the black peoples mind to be intoxicated and distracted from the real issue which was a hold on economic prosperity … Thus creating this generation of youth that obviously have no respect cause they can’t even respect there own parents because of the shame of substance abuse… Which occurred on there watch under John SWAN (another puppet) responsible for the social ills, who was too busy being led by his own desire or personal wealth.. These are not only my feelings they are clear and evident facts!! So OBA kiss my a$$ ‘passionate puppets’!! All of you want power and control but can’t control the power !
Funny is it not that all the long drawn out comments are by friends and family.
Irony.