Robert King On Crime, Policing, Budget & More
“The OBA is committed to improving public safety and tackling the gangs by investing in the Police and providing them the resources they need,” OBA MP Robert King said.
Mr King said, “Today, Senator Lindsay Simmons berated the OBA for saying more needs to be done to tackle crime and solve the dozens of unsolved murders. She said the government is powerless as the Governor is in charge of the Bermuda Police Service. She then claims credit for increasing sobriety check points – so does the PLP have control over some policing activities but not others?
“Senator Simmons listed a range of strategies and initiatives yet there is no indication that any of these efforts are having any effect on crime. The PLP Government hired Pastor Leroy Bean in 2017 to tackle gang violence and he has been paid almost $900,000. There has been zero accountability for how that money was spent and no noticeable reduction in crime. Now that Pastor Bean is an MP, is he continuing to be paid $125,000 per year in addition to his MP salary?
“In assessing the effectiveness of the government’s initiatives, performance must be measured which would show a reduction in violent crimes committed. However, it is a fact that violent crime is increasing and young Bermudians continue to be killed. This is not scaremongering. These are the facts.
“Senator Simmons claimed the PLP increased the Police budget – but only after it slashed millions from the budget in previous years. In 2019/20 the Police budget was $64.2 million. The budget was repeatedly cut and in the last financial year it was $62.6 million, almost $2 million less than a few years ago. It also cut salaries by almost $900,000 in the last budget – yet the PLP proposed massive increases of salaries for Cabinet members and MPs; some proposed increases of more than 100%.
“Senator Simmons said crime is driven by several factors including poverty and lack of education. Yet it is PLP policies and financial mismanagement that have massively increased poverty in Bermuda, including more than 1,100 now homeless, a third of Bermudians living in poverty, and driving thousands of Bermudians to leave the island to seek opportunities and a better life elsewhere.
“Its years-long education reform fiasco has only served to make Bermuda’s public education worse. We recently saw several incredibly violent fights between students in schools. The PLP crime reduction strategies are clearly not working.
“What Senator Simmons has confirmed is that the PLP is a government devoid of ideas and with a track record of broken promises and blaming other people for its incompetence. Meanwhile crime continues unabated. Bermudians continue to be murdered. And all residents suffer.
“The OBA will do better. It will ensure effective consultation with front line officers and hierarchy to ensure that the service is properly equipped and supported towards the achievement of its objectives, suppression of criminal activity, intervention and prevention.
“The OBA is committed to improving public safety and tackling the gangs by investing in the Police and providing them the resources they need.
“Bermudians deserve to live without fear, and without the threat of their children being gunned down in the street.”
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