Prime Minister Philip Davis’s Remarks before a Clear, Hold, Build Community Walkabout, Southern Shores

Good afternoon, members of the media. Thank you for being here.

Before I say anything else, I want to thank the men and women of the Royal Bahamas Police Force, and in particular the officers here at the Carmichael Urban Renewal Centre, for the extraordinary work they do every single day to keep our communities safe. I also want to thank the residents of Southern Shores, the churches, the community leaders, and every Bahamian who has played their part. Because what we are seeing today is not the work of government alone. It is the work of a whole community.

Now, when we launched Clear Hold Build, crime was heading in a very different direction. It was going up. Armed robberies had reached 555 in a single year. Families were afraid. Communities felt abandoned. The old approach of sending police through a neighbourhood and then leaving was not working. Something had to change.

So we changed it. We launched Clear Hold Build to break the back of crime. Not with one programme, but with a joined-up 5 Pillars strategy that brings together policing, community investment, youth intervention, border security, and legislative reform. All connected. All working together.

And I am here today, in this community, to speak to the residents, to walk these streets with our officers, and to hear directly from the families who live here how our measures are working. Because that is what leadership requires. You do not launch a programme and walk away. You come back. You listen. And you build on what is working.

The numbers tell us we are moving in the right direction.

Homicides are down 26 percent. Armed robberies are down 39 percent, and down 71 percent from that peak. Housebreakings have been cut nearly in half. Overall major crime across this country is down 15 percent. Those are the official figures from the Royal Bahamas Police Force.

We are breaking the back of crime in The Bahamas. And it happened because we invested. 787 new police officers on our streets. Over a thousand CCTV cameras deployed. New bail reform and anti-gang legislation. 366 illegal firearms seized in a single year. Over 260 new Defence Force marines, new patrol vessels, and new technology to protect our borders. And new rehabilitative programmes in our correctional facility to reduce reoffending and give people a second chance.

We brought everyone to the table. The church. Civil society. Community organisations. Every arm of government. Because no government fights crime alone. It takes a whole country.

And we invested in the next generation. The National Youth Guard has graduated over 400 young Bahamians with discipline, skills, and purpose. Because the most powerful thing we can do to fight crime is give a young person a future.

Now let me say something directly to those who think they can continue to terrorise our communities.

We are coming for you. We have more officers on the streets than ever before. We have cameras watching. We have ShotSpotter listening. We have intelligence working around the clock. And we have a 65 percent murder clearance rate, which means if you take a life in this country, the chances are we will find you and you will face justice.

Every illegal firearm you carry, we will seize. Every criminal network you build, we will dismantle. Every community you try to hold hostage, we will take back. That is not a threat. That is a promise from this government to the Bahamian people.

The days of criminals operating with impunity in The Bahamas are coming to an end. And I will not rest until every Bahamian, in every community, in every island of this country, can walk their streets without fear.

I am not here to take a victory lap. There are families who have lost loved ones. There are Bahamians who still do not feel safe. I carry that with me every day. We still have work to do.

But for the first time, the direction is right. Real progress is underway. And we are going to build on it. Not rest on it. Build on it.

We are breaking the back of crime, and we will not let anyone break what we are building.

Thank you.