MP Establishes ‘Council of Elders’ from the Mt. Moriah Constituency

Nassau, Bahamas – Member of Parliament for Mt. Moriah, Rt. Hon Arnold A. Forbes speaks to the media:

Good Morning Ladies & Gentleman, firstly I would like to thank Senior Members of the Royal Bahamas Police Force and Residents of the Mt. Moriah Community, who have joined me this morning to speak out against the vexing issue of crime as it relates to the Mt. Moriah community. I would also like to thank the Minister and Minister of State for National Security Hon. Bernard Nottage and Sen. Keith Bell for their immediate assistance in addressing the issue of crime in the Mt. Moriah Constituency.

Last week, two young lives were lost to senseless acts of crime. These cannot go unpunished, and all must be brought to justice. What has saddened me is the age of the lives lost from the community just 18 and 20 and also their alleged perpetrators who are particularly young men. While nationally we are on the right path of breaking the back of crime, the right responses are needed from all stakeholders to accomplish this. I agree with the Prime Minister the Rt. Hon. Perry Christie that every effort and resource must be utilized in the fight against crime and criminality. Prevention, Detection, Prosecution and Rehabilitation as outlined in the Charter for Governance are the keys to dealing with crime effectively.

During my campaign, I promised to lead from the front on every issue as it relates to the Mt. Moriah constituency. Immediately, I have called on the Minister and Minister of State for National Security to increase Saturation Patrols, which are designed to effectively man crime hotspots. Criminals must fear that the Police will catch them. I have also requested from the Minister of State for Urban Renewal to immediately begin the discussion of how we can bring Urban Renewal 2.0 and its successes into the Mt. Moriah Community.

Today, I am also pleased to announce the establishment of a ‘Council of Elders’ from the Mt. Moriah Constituency to work in tandem with the Yellow Elder Crime Watch Association. Together, these two initiatives will work to provide necessary information to both the Police Force and myself. The Council of Elders specifically will work closely with me to identify specific needs and solutions to the solving the problems that exist particularly and uniquely in the Mt. Moriah Constituency. Spearheading those two initiatives are Bishop Sylvanus Petty and Trevor Brown, who heads the Yellow Elder Crime Watch Association. I also plan to implement the Mt. Moriah version of the ‘50 Bahamians’ Program as outlined in the PLP’s Charter for Governance. This will help to provide mentorship for at risk youth in the community of Mt. Moriah from successful members of the community.

Today along with Senior Officers of the Royal Bahamas Police Force, to bring calm, identify the concerns of residents and show the full force of the Police to remaining criminal elements.

Lastly, I invite residents of the community of Mt. Moriah interested in partnering with me with any of these initiatives to contact my Constituency Headquarters at 323-2757. In closing, we must work together and support our Police Force, Crime is not acceptable and we the community of Mt. Moriah will not allow it to destroy the lives of our residents. We will be proactive and aggressive in this fight for a safer neighborhood.