NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Minister of National Security Wayne Munroe yesterday encouraged the public to record police officers engaging in misconduct to clamp down on “bad actors” on the Royal Bahamas Police Force (RBPF) that have been damaging public trust.
The public should be encouraged. If they see police misconduct, try to record it surreptitiously sometimes, try to record it and report it — WAYNE MUNROE
Responding to questions about the police force renewing public trust, the minister said officers must first engage in behaviour that does not damage public trust and perception of the police force, which results in generalizations about the organization.
“We use tools like the body cameras; we use tools like the police complaints inspectorate, which the ministry is proposing to support more robustly with a secretariat,” Munroe told the media ahead of the Cabinet meeting at the Office of the Prime Minister.
“We encourage the public repeatedly in The Bahamas, we have to get past being a talking shop; a suck your teeth and complain; and bring it forward officially.
“We’ve seen the police taken before the courts charged with homicide. And so, the commissioner of police, the senior command staff would have us know, that if you provide the information they will act on it. No profession wants to retain bad actors in their midst because we don’t say that person is bad; we say all of them [are] bad.
“The public should be encouraged. If they see police misconduct, try to record it surreptitiously sometimes, try to record it and report it. We’re in the age of modern technology.”
Munroe pointed out that a recent murder was solved as a result of a bystander recording the incident, though he did not provide specifics on the incident.
The minister said, in the same way, the members of the public records criminality on other events, “we can get recordings of police misconduct and we will address it”.
More than 200 body-worn and dash cameras were introduced as a part of a pilot program under the last administration to offer more transparency and accountability on the police force.
The minister said the government is determined to expand the program.
He said: “We have a limited supply of those. We met a limited supply of those. We are seeking to build them up together with building up dash cams, so again we operate with what we met when we got in the chair.”
As it relates to recording police officers, Deputy Commissioner Clayton Fernander made a similar statement last December, noting that officers should be comfortable being recorded as they execute their duties.
At the time, the deputy commissioner said the RBPF was preparing for additional training for officers in professionalism and building community trust as the organization seeks to reduce police complaints and allegations of abuse.
In recent years, there have been scores of purported recordings of officers allegedly abusing the rights of citizens.
Social media culture has facilitated more of those videos surfacing and being shared.
