Bahamas News
PM Davis Unveils ‘Clear, Hold and Build’ Approach to Addressing Crime
#TheBahamas, January 19, 2024 – During his first broadcast public statement for 2024, on January 14, Prime Minister and Minister Finance the Hon. Philip Davis noted that he would have preferred to have taken that time to “set out the plans we have in place to further lift our national development in 2024.”
“Instead, with the country having witnessed 11 murders over the past 14 days, I want to speak to you about the things we are doing to reduce the incidence of crime, and the plans we are beginning to implement ultimately to prevent crime being committed in the first place,” he said.
“Over the past year, and in the past few weeks in particular, New Providence has been the scene of senseless carnage, much of it attributed to persons already on bail for serious offences,” Prime Minister added. “Most murderers and victims have also been connected to those associated in some way with gangs.
“Gang-related activity has plagued our country for far too long.”
Prime Minister Davis pointed out that, over the years a number of initiatives had been launched to try to deal with that issue. He added that his Government was, at that time, preparing the “most comprehensive approach yet.”
“Our frontline response to the present crisis is to bring forward a strategy which is already in the advanced stages of planning,” Prime Minister Davis stated.
He added: “Our approach lies in three stages: ‘Clear, Hold and Build’. We’re going on the offensive. Put simply, our first phase is to ‘Clear’ out the gangs from our neighbourhoods.
Our police, armed with new resources and resolve, will strike hard against these gangs. We’re not just disrupting them, we’re dismantling them. We will show no mercy to those who have shown no mercy to their fellow citizens.
“If you choose crime, you will face the full weight and might of the law.”
Prime Minister Davis stated that, after clearing those neighbourhoods, they are not “just walking away”; and will move to phase two, which is the ‘Hold’ phase. The police, he added, will ‘hold’ these communities by maintaining an
“ongoing, relentless presence.”
“This is an area which we think has not been addressed fully in the past,” Prime Minister Davis pointed out. “We’re sending a clear message to any criminal who thinks they can make a comeback: we’re here, we’re here to stay, and we’re not going anywhere.
“This phase is about constant vigilance and strength.”
Lastly, Prime Minister Davis continued, his Government will ‘Build, adding “not just buildings and roads, but building opportunities, building futures, building hope”.
“This is about investing in our communities, creating opportunities that didn’t exist before, and ensuring that crime is never again seen as a desirable option.
“We’re not just reclaiming our streets; we are revitalizing them,” he added. “‘Clear, Hold, Build’. It’s an approach which has been used in some form or another in other countries, with significant degrees of success.
“We are adapting it to suit the situation on the ground here in The Bahamas, and we are fully resolved to do what is necessary to succeed.”
Prime Minister Davis noted that most of the killings in The Bahamas were gun-related; and that there were “far too many” firearms on the nation’s streets.
“In fact, we have already begun to take more aggressive actions against those found in possession to support our zero-tolerance approach,” he said. “Our Anti-Gang and Firearm Task Force is in full swing.
Prime Minister Davis added: “Last year the Judiciary designated a magistrate specifically to deal with firearms offences. We now have quicker prosecutions, with stiffer penalties being imposed. From the date of first appearance in court to conviction or acquittal, it now takes an average of two months rather than a number of years as was previously the case.
Prime Minister Davis pointed out that the backlog was also being cleared. Swift Justice was at work, he added; and he noted that his Government “will build on this success”.
“Friends: You won’t believe where we’re finding these guns: stashed in cereal boxes and tucked away in snack packets, buried in innocent-looking surroundings,” he continued. “Guns are also being hidden by girlfriends, parents and grandparents.”
“Most worryingly, children and young people are being used to hide weapons near schools or even attempting to smuggle them in their underwear – and this is true of both girls and boys,” Prime Minister Davis added.
He said that it was clear evidence of the lengths criminals will go to.
“But let me tell you, no matter how clever these gangs think they are, our task force is smarter, tougher, and more determined,” Prime Minister Davis stated. “We’re uncovering their tricks, and we’re putting an end to their game.”
Prime Minister Davis pointed out that guns are not made in The Bahamas, with firearms coming from abroad, primarily from the United States.
“I’ve been straight with the US Government about the need to step up their game, and they have, as a result, tightened their response,” he said. “Our partnership with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms is strengthening.”
“We’re not just talking; we’re taking action,” Prime Minister Davis added. “We’re tracking down Bahamians with dual citizenship who have been buying guns in the US and trafficking them here.
“And it’s working – we’ve already busted some major operations.”
PHOTO CAPTION
Prime Minister and Minister of Finance the Hon. Philip Davis speaks, during his National Statement on Crime, on January 14, 2024. (OPM Photo)
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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