Bahamas News
Prime Minister Davis Calls police graduation ceremony an ‘extraordinary’ day
#TheBahamas, June 29, 2023 – Prime Minister and Minister of Finance the Hon. Philip Davis said, on June 22, 2023, that the Graduation and Passing Out Ceremony held in Rawson Square was an “extraordinary day for the 229 new recruits of the Royal Bahamas Police Force.
“To you, the new A, B, C, & D full-fledged recruits, and A, B, C, & D reserve squads, I say congratulations! It is a sincere honour to share this special moment with you,” Prime Minister Davis said. “I also wish to recognise the 18 officers from Turks and Caicos who are with us today. As neighbouring nations, The Bahamas and Turks and Caicos
have a long history of trade, collaboration, and, more recently, joint security operations.”
Among those present from The Bahamas were Governor General, His Excellency the Most Hon. Sir Cornelius A. Smith; Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Tourism, Investments and Aviation the Hon. Chester Cooper, and other Cabinet Ministers; senior Government Officials; heads of the Uniformed Branches; two former Prime Ministers; family members and well-wishers.
Prime Minister Davis also acknowledged the presence of his “esteemed colleagues”, the Hon. Charles Washington Misick, Premier of the Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI), and Her Excellency the Acting Governor of Turks and Caicos, Anya Williams; wishing them both a “very warm Bahamian welcome”. Also present from TCI were Deputy Police Commissioner Rodney Adams, and other officials.
Prime Minister Davis said: “The Government of TCI is a vital partner of ours. We are always pleased to work alongside TCI to ensure our people’s shared safety and well-being. I look forward to a sustained partnership between The Bahamas and Turks and Caicos as we work to counter crime and create a more secure and prosperous region for all.”
“Today, my friends is a significant day,” he added. “Today represents the accumulation of so many hours of hard work and intensive training. Today is the summit of a very steep slope, the peak you have sought for so long. From up here, the view is surely stunning. Enjoy it, my friends; you have earned it.”
Prime Minister Davis noted that, as The Bahamas readied itself to celebrate 50 years as an independent nation, the theme “One Nation. Our Legacy. Our Future” was a fitting one for that very occasion.
“Without law enforcement, it goes without saying we would not have a rule of law,” he pointed out. “We would not be able to guarantee the rights and freedoms we all enjoy as citizens. Our legacy and our future as a stable and prosperous country in the Caribbean might very well be placed in jeopardy without the work of you police officers.”
“I say this to stress the importance of the charge you now carry on your shoulders,” Prime Minister Davis added. “In your work, you will not only be creating safer communities. You will also be shaping the future of our country.”
Prime Minister Davis said that he encouraged the recruits to pursue that solemn remit “with all your strength”.
“I challenge you to remain unwavering in your quest for excellence; and I trust that you will be sensitive, steadfast, and sincere in the execution of your duties,” he said.
“Recruits: today represents the first of many peaks,” Prime Minister Davis added. “You will encounter countless
others over the course of your career. But you will not be able to do it alone.”
He told them to “lean” on their fellow officers and vice versa.
“Work together, bound by a shared sense of duty and profound respect for national service, and you will scale more mountains than you can imagine,” Prime Minister Davis said.
“As the saying goes, if you want to go fast, go alone. But if you want to go far, go together. So, go together, and go with all you’ve got,” he added.
Prime Minister Davis noted that along the way, however, they should not forget to take in their surroundings, to share in the success of their fellow recruits, and to hold each other to the highest standard.
“Bring out the best in each other, and execute your charge with the integrity, loyalty, and courage that characterises your Police Forces,” he said.
Prime Minister Davis said that people miss out on “so much joy” when they all do not celebrate their achievements; so they should “savour the mountains you climb”.
“Survey your surroundings, then determine where your resolve can take you next,” he said. “And as you forge ahead, never forget that education and training can take you farther than you ever imagined.”
Prime Minister Davis added: “Become a life-long learner, and you will find yourself better equipped to carry out your charge. Your faith and endurance may be tested. And as you progress in your career, long hours and unforeseen obstacles may wear away at you. But in those trying times, reflect on what made you choose to become a police officer. Remember your reason why, and never let it go.”
He pointed out that, as new recruits, they had joined an organisation with an almost 200-year-long legacy. He noted that, since 1980, the RBPF, for example, has carried out its mandate of maintaining law and order, preserving the peace, preventing crime, apprehending offenders, and enforcing laws.
“It is now up to you to accomplish these functions,” Prime Minister Davis said. “With your new skills and training, you now form a part of the privileged few who work each day to create a better, safer Bahamas and TCI.”
He added: “In the recent past, we have heard of violent break-ins, brutal murders, and savage assaults. The scourge of crime is certainly a concern for my administration, and it is one we are working to address to the best of our ability.”
Prime Minister Davis noted that his Government had undertaken heavy recruiting over the past 18 months, which had paid dividends in an overall crime reduction of 30% from 2022 to 2023, and a 16% decrease in homicides over the same period.
“We have also secured 100 new trucks and 50 new motorcycles for the police force, expanded CCTV coverage in public parks, and introduced technology and equipment upgrades in the form of body cameras, electronic
monitoring devices, drones and much more,” he said.
“In the coming year, we will also be renovating multiple police stations and law enforcement facilities to better serve our service men and women,” Prime Minister Davis added.
He noted that, in the ongoing fight against crime, however, the country would need more than just new equipment.
Prime Minister Davis said: “We will need each one of you to do your part. The single mother alone at night needs you. The young boy on the brink of joining a gang needs you. The visitors to our shores need you. We all need you, our police officers.”
“So, as you embark on a fruitful and fulfilling career as a public officer, I trust that you will carry out your duties with the utmost care and urgency,” he added. “I trust that you will give back to your country, which has already given so much to you. And I trust that wherever the future takes you, you will greet the days ahead with a proud and steadfast smile.
“You are a police officer, and that capacity is no small honour.”
PM: Project delivers on promise and invests in youth, sports and national development
GRAND BAHAMA, The Bahamas — Calling it the fulfillment of a major commitment to the island, Prime Minister Philip Davis led the official groundbreaking for the Grand Bahama Aquatic Centre, a facility the government says will transform sports development and create new opportunities for young athletes.
Speaking at the Grand Bahama Sports Complex on February 12, the Prime Minister said the project represents more than bricks and mortar
— it is an investment in people, national pride and long-term economic activity. The planned complex will feature a modern 50-metre competition pool, designed to meet international standards for training and regional and global swim meets. Davis said the facility will give Bahamian swimmers a home capable of producing world-class performance while also providing a space for community recreation, learn-to-swim programmes and water safety training.
He noted that Grand Bahama has long produced outstanding athletes despite limited infrastructure and said the new centre is intended to correct that imbalance, positioning the island as a hub for aquatic sports and sports tourism.
The Prime Minister also linked the development to the broader national recovery and revitalisation of Grand Bahama, describing the project as part of a strategy to expand opportunities for young people, create jobs during construction and stimulate activity for small businesses once operational.
The Aquatic Centre, he said, stands as proof that promises made to Grand Bahama are being delivered.
The project is expected to support athlete development, attract competitions, and provide a safe, modern environment for residents to access swimming and water-based programmes for generations to come.
Angle by Deandrea Hamilton. Built with ChatGPT (AI). Magnetic Media — CAPTURING LIFE.
The Bahamas, February 15, 2026 – For the better part of three years, Bahamians have been told that major Afreximbank financing would help transform access to capital, rebuild infrastructure and unlock economic growth across the islands. The headline figures are large. The signing ceremonies are high profile. The language is ambitious. What remains far harder to see is the measurable impact in the daily lives of the people those announcements are meant to serve.
The Government’s push to secure up to $100 million from Afreximbank for roughly 200 miles of Family Island roads dates back to 2025. In
its February 11 disclosure, the bank outlined a receivables-discounting facility — a structure that allows a contractor to be paid early once work is completed, certified and invoiced, with the Government settling the bill later. It is not cash placed into the economy upfront. It does not, by itself, build a single mile of road. Every dollar depends on work first being delivered and approved.
The wider framework has been described as support for “climate-resilient and trade-enhancing infrastructure,” a phrase that, in practical terms, should mean projects that lower the cost of doing business, move people and goods faster, and keep the economy functioning. But for communities, that promise becomes real only when the projects are named, the standards are defined and a clear timeline is given for when work will begin — and when it will be finished.
Bahamians have seen this moment before.
In 2023, a $30 million Afreximbank facility for the Bahamas Development Bank was hailed as a breakthrough that would expand access to financing for local enterprise. It worked in one immediate and measurable way: it encouraged businesses to apply. Established, revenue-generating Bahamian companies responded to the call, prepared plans, and entered a process they believed had been capitalised to support growth. The unanswered question is how much of that capital has reached the private sector in a form that allowed those businesses to expand, hire and generate new economic activity.
Because development is not measured in the size of announcements.
It is measured in loans disbursed, projects completed and businesses expanded.
The pattern is becoming difficult to ignore. In June 2024, when Afreximbank held its inaugural Caribbean Annual Meetings in Nassau,
Grand Bahama was presented as the future home of an Afro-Caribbean marketplace said to carry tens of millions of dollars in investment. What was confirmed at that stage was a $1.86 million project-preparation facility — funding for studies and planning to make the development bankable, not construction financing. The larger build-out remains dependent on additional approvals, land acquisition and further capital.
This distinction — between financing announced and financing that produces visible, measurable outcomes — is now at the centre of the national conversation.
Because while the numbers grow larger on paper, entrepreneurs still describe access to capital as out of reach, and communities across the Family Islands are still waiting to see where the work will start.
And in an economy where stalled growth translates into lost opportunity, rising frustration and real social consequences, the gap between promise and delivery is no longer a communications issue.
It is an inability to convert announcements into outcomes.
Angle by Deandrea Hamilton. Built with ChatGPT (AI). Magnetic Media — CAPTURING LIFE.
A hardline strategy that reduced murders, gunfire, and collateral deaths
The Bahamas, February 8, 2026 – What happens when police stop routinely granting bail to high-risk suspects and aggressively execute outstanding warrants? In The Bahamas, the answer in 2025 was fewer murders, fewer gunshots, and safer communities.
The Royal Bahamas Police Force arrested 4,337 individuals on outstanding warrants last year, ensuring suspects were brought directly before the courts instead of being released back onto the streets. At the same time, police significantly curtailed the use of police bail for high-risk and repeat offenders, particularly those already entangled in violent disputes.
Police Commissioner Shanta Knowles said the shift was informed by hard lessons from previous years. Intelligence reviews showed that
many homicide victims were not random targets, but men already wanted by law enforcement and — critically — by other criminals. When released on bail, those individuals often became targets themselves, triggering retaliatory shootings that spilled into neighbourhoods, roadways and public spaces.
By keeping high-risk suspects in custody pending court appearances, police say they disrupted that cycle — removing both potential offenders and potential victims from the streets.
The impact was stark. Murders declined by 31 percent in 2025, falling from 120 in 2024 to 83, the largest percentage decrease in homicides since national tracking began in 1963 and the lowest murder count in nearly two decades.
Police leaders say the strategy also reduced the collateral damage that had increasingly alarmed communities. Innocent residents had been caught in “sprays of gunfire” as targeted attacks unfolded in residential areas, at traffic stops, and in public settings.
Gun-violence indicators reflected the change. Gunshot reports fell by 35 percent, while incidents detected by ShotSpotter technology declined by 29 percent, confirming that fewer shots were being fired across the country.
“Gunshots ringing out and cutting through our peaceful paradise were down remarkably,” Commissioner Knowles said, attributing the improvement to decisive enforcement, tighter bail practices, and sustained pressure on offenders.
Police also intensified enforcement against breach of bail conditions, charging and detaining more suspects than in any previous reporting period. Officers say the approach removed the opportunity for repeat offending while matters were before the courts.
Police leadership said the results go beyond statistics. By limiting bail for high-risk suspects and executing warrants at scale, the strategy saved lives, protected bystanders, and restored confidence in public safety.
In 2025, fewer people were hunted, fewer bullets were fired, and fewer families were left grieving — a shift police say was no accident, but the result of deliberate, hardline choices.
Angle by Deandrea Hamilton. Built with ChatGPT (AI). Magnetic Media — CAPTURING LIFE.
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