January 30, 2013 at 5:54 p.m.
Letter
Burch, stop passing the buck over police
I read with interest the daily of August 14 where Public Safety Minister David Burch urged the Governor to do more for the Police. The Minister's press conference was in response to the Opposition party's call for more policing on the streets of St. George's where crime seems to be on the rise. It appears to me that the Minister's sole ambition in life is to try and create confusion in the public's mind about the role of the Governor.
He seems to think that if he shouts loud enough and criticizes the Governor enough that the people of Bermuda will begin to think that the Governor is responsible for all of the weaknesses in the policing system.
I'm sure all of Bermuda knows that the Governor is not involved in the day to day policing of the Island and he isn't expected to 'walk the beat'.
Rather, the Governor delegates such duties to the present Police chief who should be able to rely on the support of the Government of the day to help him execute his duties.
Simply put, the Minister himself should be providing the necessary resources for the Police Chief to execute his duties and this is reinforced by the $57 million of taxpayers' funds that go towards the policing of the Island and which the PLP Administration agreed in this year's budget.
In my opinion, the challenges being faced in St. George's is largely due to the policy decision made by the PLP Government to relocate the police station in the East End to Southside from St. George's.
I recall during the debate in Parliament on this very topic the Government promising the Opposition and the people of Bermuda that police presence in St. George's would not decline once the re-location took place.
This is yet another promise that has been broken. The people of St. George's ought to put the blame squarely on the shoulders of the PLP Government for the lack of policing in St. George's that has caused an increase in crime in their community.
This Minister ought to stop trying to 'pass the buck' and do his job without the whining.
Allan D. Marshall JP
Smiths Parish[[In-content Ad]]
Comments:
You must login to comment.