ON BEHALF OF PRIME MINISTER PHILIP EDWARD DAVIS, KC
Good morning.
Commissioner Knowles, President Jeffrey Glover, distinguished law enforcement professionals, community leaders, and all those who work every day to keep our societies safe — thank you for the work you do, and thank you for inviting me to speak on behalf of the Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, the Honourable Philip Edward Davis.
He sends his warmest regards and deep respect to each of you gathered here this morning. He also asked me to tell you plainly: this summit, and the work that flows from it, matter. Not only to our country. But to the world.
There are moments in public life where we are forced to reckon with uncomfortable truths. Where we are called to strip away the polite language of policy and speak plainly about what we see, what we feel, and what we fear.
As Minister of Education, I see the aftermath of crime every single day — not just in crime statistics, but in the faces of children who have lost fathers, uncles, brothers — sometimes all three — to gun violence. Children who carry trauma so deep, they sit in silence, or they lash out in rage, or they disappear altogether into a world that pulls them in faster than we can pull them out.
In one school I visited, a principal told me she had kids who had lost multiple family members to gun violence. Five. Some killed in front of their homes. One gunned down inside the house. Imagine what that does to a child.
And then I ask myself — and I ask all of us: who do they turn to? Where is their safety net? Because in far too many of our communities, there is a dangerous alternative already waiting. Gangs. Predators. Men with empty promises and loaded weapons who offer them power, protection, and a false sense of belonging.
So when we talk about crime, we must be honest. We are fighting for our children. We are fighting for their minds before someone else claims them.
This is why I do not believe public safety is the sole responsibility of police. It is the responsibility of all of us. Every minister. Every teacher. Every parent. Every leader.
But make no mistake — law enforcement remains the frontline. When a gun goes off in Bain Town or Fox Hill or Englerston, it’s not a philosopher or a social worker who responds. It is you.
And for that reason, you deserve more than our thanks. You deserve our partnership. You deserve the resources, the training, and the policies that allow you to succeed in this fight — not just to arrest, but to prevent. Not just to patrol, but to protect and build.
Your theme, “Global Policing in Uncertain Times: Adapting, Collaborating, Protecting”, captures the tension we all live in. The world feels broken. Divided. Unsteady.
And yet you—the men and women in this room—are being asked to hold the line. To bring order where there is chaos. Peace where there is violence. Hope where there is grief.
It is an impossible burden if you try to bear it alone.
That is why this summit matters. Because here, we admit that none of us can do it by ourselves. We must listen to one another. Learn from one another. Stand with one another.
Whether you wear the badge in Atlanta, Montego Bay, or Nassau, the forces working against us are increasingly sophisticated. Transnational trafficking. Cybercrime. Weapon smuggling. Recruitment of children into violent extremism.
So our response must be equally strong — and coordinated.
On behalf of Prime Minister Davis, I want to say this – The Bahamas stands with NOBLE.
We honour its founding purpose and present mission. We respect its history of advocacy, training, and reform. And we join you in building a future where policing is a force for justice, for restoration, and for equity.
The Prime Minister often says that he governs with the belief that dignity is a right, not a reward. And that safety is the foundation of opportunity. That principle guides every investment we make in law enforcement, in education, in housing, in healthcare.
Because you cannot talk about justice in the courtroom without also talking about justice in the classroom, justice on the streets, and justice in the economic life of our people.
Let me go back to those children for a moment. Because that’s where this conversation has to return.
I remember hearing the stories of a young boy, no older than 11, whose older brother was killed. His mother had already buried two sons. This child, they said, didn’t cry. He didn’t speak. He just sat still. Hollow.
We fail him if we only respond with statements of sympathy. We fail him if our only answer is more arrests. We fail him if we do not build a society where violence is not the only power that some children ever witness.
That is why, as Minister of Education, I have pushed hard to bring mental health support into schools. To strengthen after-school programming. To train teachers not just as instructors, but as watchful protectors of children who may be slipping through the cracks.
And it is why we need partnerships with the police that go beyond patrols. We need community officers walking school campuses—not to intimidate, but to mentor. To form relationships. To be the counterweight to gang recruiters.
Because we know what’s happening. The recruiters are showing up at school gates. They are watching who’s alone. Who’s angry. Who’s hungry. Who can be bought.
We cannot be naïve. We have to fight back — not just with handcuffs, but with hope.
Before I close, I want to acknowledge the women in this room.
As a woman in government, I know the barriers we face. But I also know the strength we bring. And I believe the presence of women in policing — at every level — is a quiet revolution. One that changes not just outcomes, but approaches.
You bring empathy to hard moments. You de-escalate when others may confront. And you know what it means to protect not just the body, but the heart.
To all the women here: I see you. I honour your courage. And I ask that you keep blazing trails — not for yourselves, but for the next generation of girls watching.
So here is what I leave with you:
Let’s move from talking about violence to stopping it.
Let’s move from admiring leadership to cultivating it.
Let’s move from reacting to recruiting — to pulling in our best and brightest to serve.
The future of policing must be smarter. More strategic. More connected. But above all, it must be human.
This summit is not about training alone. It is about transformation.
It is about changing what policing looks like, what it feels like, and what it achieves in communities that have known too much pain and too little peace.
On behalf of Prime Minister Davis, on behalf of the children I see in our schools, and on behalf of every mother who just wants her son to come home alive — I say thank you. Thank you for your service, your sacrifice, and your unshakable sense of purpose.
Let’s keep fighting. Let’s keep adapting. Let’s keep protecting.
God bless you all.