9 Guns Seized This Year, 1 Linked To 7 Crimes

Mr. Speaker, in our usual legislative calendar, a government at this stage has had eight or nine months to deliver on its Throne Speech Promises. With a December election last year and the Throne Speech on February 8th of this year, this Government has only had five months.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased today to provide Honourable Members and the public with an update that shows the considerable progress made by the Ministry of Public Safety in the few months since the promises of the Speech from the Throne were made.

Mr. Speaker, the Speech from the Throne was tempered by a restraint necessary in these economic times, but it was a Speech that determined to set a different path after fourteen years of one Party’s governance.

The goals set were ambitious, largely because the demand for change that echoed in the ballot box meant that the people of Bermuda wanted their new Government to get to work and to address the issues left unresolved by the previous leadership.

Mr. Speaker, ten substantive promises were made in the area of public safety and in the five short months since, much has been accomplished and the Ministry of Public Safety has delivered on its promises to the people of Bermuda.

Mr. Speaker, we promised to “ fulfill the potential of the Inter-Agency Gang Task Force”. This initiative started under the previous government and had not achieved the community buy-in essential to the success of any anti-gang initiative. One of our first priorities was to engage local clergy and other community groups to play a part in the strategic direction of anti-gang strategy for Bermuda.

I am pleased to advise that the Community Level of the IGTF is fully engaged, meets regularly and brings together many stakeholders at the community level. Through their sharing of information we have been able to target neighbourhoods and at-risk young people for the interventions required as alternatives to the gang lifestyle.

Mr. Speaker, as part of this initiative, I am pleased to advise this Honourable House that next month, four police officers will be trained in the gang resistance programme GREAT which involves a dedicated period of anti-gang messaging in our schools, delivered by police officers directly to students. The intention is to introduce this programme into an initial eight schools in September.

Mr. Speaker, we promised a Bermuda Operation Ceasefire incorporating a best practice gang mediation programme. I am pleased to advise Honourable Members that a Co-ordinator for the gang mediation programme has been taken on. Through an umbrella partnership with a local charity this programme is in the streets, actively working with young people to identify their needs and address the social issues that have caused their gang affiliation. The initiative is funded through a public/private partnership.

The result of this street-level interaction has been some of the clearest indications that our young people want to do better with their lives and are prepared to reject the destructive gang lifestyle. Our role is to equip them with the skills and opportunities to succeed in this community and in this economy.

Mr. Speaker, Honourable Members will recall four important public safety Bills were considered by this Honourable House:

• The Firearms Amendment Act – to permit shooting for the recently completed Island Games
• The Parole Board Amendment Act – to increase the size of the Board and better facilitate their work
• The Prisons Amendment Act – to ban prohibited high risk items in prisons, especially cell phones; and
• The Proceeds of Crime Amendment Act – the “cash back for communities” initiative to put the proceeds of crime back into positive use in affected communities.

Mr. Speaker, each of these Bills was passed with the unanimous support of this Honourable House and I can assure Honourable Members that they will see their impact shortly.

Two legislative items remain at the drafting stage but will be introduced to this Honourable House when we return in September. The Bill to make a breach of parole an arrestable offence is well advanced in conjunction with my colleague the Attorney General and the draft National Drug Control Bill is being reviewed by the Ministry.

Mr. Speaker, we promised to implement a policy whereby all Government Members of the Legislature will be subject to random, mandatory drug testing. I am pleased to advise Honourable Members and the public that Cabinet has approved the policy; it has been reviewed by our Caucus and will be shared with the general public via our website shortly.

Mr. Speaker, we promised the introduction of Neighbourhood Watch 2.0, a system to provide public safety alerts via voice call and text message. We are working with a private sector company to fully implement this system and I expect that it will be rolled out in the coming months. This year alone, six new Neighbourhood Watch schemes have been established bringing the Island’s total to 117. Additionally, Mr. Speaker, one new Community Action Group has been established in the western area.

Concurrent with this initiative, Honourable Members will be aware that the Ministry of Public Safety has joined forces with local telecommunications providers Digicel and CellOne for weather related alerts along the same lines. Both companies’ subscribers will receive text messages from the EMO with concise, important alerts regarding weather related issues.

Mr. Speaker, recent statistics have confirmed that crime is trending down and that the targeted focus of the Police on guns, gangs, drugs and violence is making significant inroads. We have demanded a lot from the Police and the Commissioner and his senior command have never shied from the responsibilities. This Government determined immediately that the demands of the public for safety and security must be matched by dedicated funding to deliver on that.

We promised to fund an additional twenty police officers and we did that. Mr. Speaker, this economy has encouraged more and more skilled Bermudians to consider uniformed service and thanks to this Government remaining true to its promise, the actual strength of the Bermuda Police Service will increase to 450 this year. I was pleased to attend the Passing Out Parade for the first group of new officers just last evening. Today there are new police officers on the job keeping Bermuda safe.

Additionally, I am pleased to advise Honourable Members that we expect to run a September training course for an additional twenty-five reserve police officers who provide invaluable support to police operations.

Mr. Speaker, Honourable Members will recall the appointment of a Defence and Security Review Committee by the Governor in May. This group has started to work and is considering Bermuda’s security needs against the background of the elimination of conscription, which remains the policy of this Government.

Mr. Speaker, the Gun Bounty programme was an important promise that we made and which has delivered results. The first phase of this campaign was designed to create greater awareness of CrimeStoppers as an organization and to promote its confidentiality to the wider community.

Nine firearms have been seized by the police or turned in by the public so far this year. They are comprised of 5 conventional handguns; 2 air pistols (or “BB guns”) and 2 imitation firearms. As a result of forensic examination, one firearm has been linked to 7 different gun crimes, while another firearm has been linked to 2 separate offences. These weapons have now opened up potential lines of enquiry that weren’t there previously, and will hopefully lead to the progression of some of the open cases to the point where charges can be laid against culprits who are still at large.

Mr. Speaker, these promises have been fulfilled without rancour and without any divisive debate. I mention this because a wider promise we made to the people of Bermuda was to change the conversation not just amongst ourselves in this Honourable House but in the community at large.

We may not be there just yet, Mr. Speaker, but the cross-Party support for the Nelson Bascome Centre for Substance Abuse Treatment is an indication of what we can achieve when, for the good of Bermuda, we lay down partisan attacks and focus on doing what is right.

Mr. Speaker, significant progress has been made in many areas of the Ministry but I wish to assure the people of Bermuda that there will be constant effort on our part to keep Bermuda safe. We will not let up in staying true to that promise.

This has been a busy few months and I am confident that the people of Bermuda will examine our record and agree with me when I say: promise made; promise delivered.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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