Bahamian Police given mission to Snuff out Gang Crimes in TCI

Dana Malcolm 

Staff Writer 

#TurksandCaicos, September 11, 2023 – Bahamian Police officers will join the Royal TCI Police Tactical Unit, brought in to specifically target gang related crime just as the country records its 14^th murder for 2023.

The National Security Council (NSC) made the announcement after a September 5th meeting. Royal TCI Police issued a release advising of the additions, which included an image of at least 13 male officers from The Bahamas as part of a group shot to mark the moment.

It followed a swearing-in ceremony which now gives the deployed unit the authority to police the jurisdiction.

Described as specialized officers, they will work alongside the country’s tactical unit.  The NSC says they will be actively deployed and specifically target gang related crime.

The induction is the second of its kind in the last 12 months.  A separate complement of Bahamian Officers had arrived in the country in October 2022, to help quell a similar bout of violence.  The partnership resulted in a drastic decrease in murders locally and the death of Brandon Rahming, a notorious gang leader, who had been fingered for multiple killings.

There have been 14 murders locally since the beginning of 2023, most concentrated in Providenciales and spread across the entirety of the island, from Five Cays and Dock Yard to Grace Bay; most are suspected to be retaliatory crimes linked to rival gang affiliations.

Over the weekend, residents suspect that they began to feel the pressure to be brought by the Bahamian officers, conveying their observations of serious police activity in Dock Yard.

Police have not yet commented on the operation, but Magnetic Media can report, that TCI Police on Saturday September 9, released information that they are looking for a suspect; an alleged gunman who reportedly fired at a patrol unit on Friday night near Dock Yard.

In the report, it is revealed that officers had observed a suspicious-looking individual who, upon approach, reportedly opened fire on police. Shots were returned by police in the direction of that threat.

The suspect fled on foot and is still at large.

A gun with ammunition was retrieved after the suspect escaped and the search for the culprit continued into Saturday.

The number of unsolved homicides and shootings continues to increase in the Turks and Caicos Islands as criminals get access to lethal weapons and trade gunfire.  Residents on the island are now renewing calls for more police presence as well as a meeting with the authorities.