A gangster with a badge: Tougher vetting is needed
|
Click to Listen Now
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
The Royal Bahamas Police Force must be tougher and more diligent in vetting new officers to prevent rogue individuals from joining the force in the first place.
When police reported that one of its own was involved in a shooting on Sunday, wounding a 23-year-old man walking in the area of Cordeaux Avenue, then trying to evade capture by shooting back at officers before he was subsequently arrested, it gave the organization another ‘black eye’.
The RBPF has suffered shame before and is striving to improve the public’s trust in its organization.
The young off-duty officer could have easily gotten away with shooting and killing the victim, returned to work the next day, and pretended as if he had done nothing.
Who knows how many other incidents he is connected to? Proper investigations should determine that.
Imagine reporting an incident to him and he knows well the suspects and the witnesses involved. We may never know the possible outcome.
Unfortunately, this incident further erodes trust in the police.
Perhaps, police vetting standards are not high and tough enough. It is too easy for the wrong people to join the police.
Vetting must be improved so that individuals like him cannot enter the force.
The RBPF must do all it can to ensure the integrity of recruits.
This is crucial as the law enforcement agency seeks to hire new officers to combat the new threatening levels of crime in our society, and the government seeks to fulfil promises to swear in recruits to tackle crime fears.
Officers with criminal records, links to crime, links to criminals, or prospective individuals who may present a risk to the public, should not be considered.
The police must rebuild public trust and vetting recruits must be more rigorous and taken more seriously.
The police must do all possible to prevent unsuitable people from joining the RBPF.
