NASSAU, BAHAMAS – The committee tasked with developing new policies and security measures for all government buildings has completed its report, according to National Security Minister Marvin Dames.
The formation of the independent investigative committee came days after the shooting death of former Royal Bahamas Defence Force (RBDF) marine, Petty Officer Phillip Perpall on the grounds of Government House.
A trial date has been set for the marine accused of murdering the senior Royal Bahamas Defence Force officer and the attempted murders of two other marines on May 28 last year.
The review committee was tasked not only with investigating whether or not there were any security breaches or oversights at the time of the incident, but they are expected to also provide feedback as to what improvements could be made to the current security structure at Government House.
Speaking to reporters outside Cabinet, Dames said: “We are working now to get it printed, so it should be coming back to the public very shortly.”
Asked whether there will be any policy changes as a result of the report, he continued: “We are always looking at opportunities to improve and the objective behind that was to see where our failings were, and in this case our security failings and what we need to do to improve.
“This is all a part of an overall effort, that we are in the process of reevaluating and reviewing the way we secure our public spaces, our government buildings, our embassies, our consulate and everything else.”
Dames said the ministry has a draft document that it is in the process of reviewing and he had the opportunity to meet with the chairman of the committee.
“We are quite pleased with the work that they would have undertaken and completed and very shortly we will be sharing with the public the results of that report,” he said.
He however could not indicate when that report will be released to the public.
The committee is chaired by Reginald Ferguson, former Royal Bahamas Police Force (RBPF) Commissioner, along with Roderick Bowe, former RBDF Commodore; Douglas Hanna, retired RBPF Superintendent and attorney Paul Jones, who is also a retired police officer.
The committee was initially given a two-month deadline to do their work, but requested an extension to deliver the report.
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