A new face
History has now put a heavy burden on Knowles, who will be the first woman to lead the force. It falls on her to clean up the organization.
Knowles has an impressive resume of more than three decades of service. She has served in a number of divisions, including the Southern Division, Criminal Investigations Department, the Family Island District of Exuma, and Eleuthera, and the National Crime Prevention Office, Human Resources Department and as commandant of the Police Reserves.
Knowles has also managed the Sexual Offenses Squad and the Trafficking in Persons Squad. She successfully investigated the first human trafficking case in The Bahamas. Her most recent appointment was as the assistant commissioner in charge of the Northern Bahamas.
The prime minister voiced support for Knowles when he announced her appointment.
“She is a strong and seasoned professional, ready to lead the force through an era of substantial reform,” he said in a December 4 statement.
The force was a patriarchal institution for most of its history. Only in the past three decades have women been more fully embraced in wider roles in the organization.
The first woman on the force was Audrey Weigh in 1964. Ismella Davis-Delancy was appointed as the first woman deputy commissioner in April 2020.
For Knowles, restoring trust will be her first major task. Fernander has acknowledged via this crisis that there is a “culture of corruption” in the police force.
Were other officers allegedly working with Curtis and Symonette? If so, how many? Who are they?
The public wants to know that the new leader of the force is serious about looking inward to determine if there are more bad apples related to this scandal.
The public also wants resolution to the voice note scandal. The outgoing-commissioner pledged a conclusion to the investigation by the end of the year. In that scandal there were allegations of bribery, corruption and possible complicity in murders regarding the police. Will anyone be charged?
In this historic moment it is important that the new commissioner is open and accessible to the media so that she can communicate to the public the various changes she is making to the force. The people need to see that change is happening in its various forms.
The people want her to succeed
By being open to the public and being strong on ridding the force of corrupt officers, Knowles will receive the support of the public.
The Bahamian people want the police force to succeed. The men and women of the force are our frontline protectors. In our most vulnerable moments we call the police for help.
What the public wants to know is that the person on the other end of the telephone line is an honest officer who is on the job to serve and protect. They do not want their officers to be secret agents of Colombian drug dealers.
The overwhelming majority of police officers are honest, hardworking men and women. However, there is a group who have lost their way. That group needs to be ejected from the force so that the honest officers can do their work for and on behalf of the Bahamian people.
All right-thinking Bahamians want Shanta Knowles to be the one to set the force straight. Her success would be to our collective benefit.
• Brent Dean is a communications consultant. He is a former editor and general manager of The Nassau Guardian. He can be reached at [email protected].
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Publish date : 2024-12-13 00:11:00
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