Thank you for inviting me to say a few words this morning. It is always an honour to be asked to join the security forces of the country at any event. It is a double honour and privilege to be here at Bethel Baptist steeped as it is in the history of progress of our people.

This year is an election year and more than ever we will be depending on the security forces, the Royal Bahamas Defence Force and the Royal Bahamas Police Force to ensure that there is law and order and that there is peace and stability so that the will of the people can be accurately reflected in the vote that is about to take place. I believe that the Forces are neutral, competent and can do the job. This year as we face the elections more and more people will be responsible for the running of the elections that were born in the 1960s and 1950s. There is a generational change that is taking place before our eyes. The test will be how well have the procedures passed down from one generation to the next.

In a recent briefing with the Commissioner of Police he made the point that a Police Force has to be run by relatively young people. It is not an old man’s job in the sense that it requires a lot of physical and mental energy to keep on top of crime and the current trends in our society. Many Forces around the world I am advised have 55 as the retirement age.

While that is not the case in The Bahamas and there is no plan to change the present retirement age, what the Government wants to do within the limits of its authority is to ensure that the Force remains relevant to the times.

This means that each year there must be some men and women from each birth cohort that come into the Force. They will know and understand the minds of the people that they went to school with and that they socialized with. We will keep on top of crime.

The Police Staff Association was an initiative that was designed to ensure that there is a mechanism to be able to know what the young men and women on the Force are thinking and to be able to adjust policies and procedures to better meet their needs and expectations and the public which they serve.

Becoming part of a disciplined force carries with it, the giving up of certain normal civil and political rights. It means that your freedom of speech is curtailed and your freedom of assembly is curtailed amongst others. That is the sacrifice which you voluntarily make to be a part of a disciplined force, a force which answers absolutely to civilians elected by the people to determine the force’s control and direction. I am sure that this is no easy sacrifice to make but the vast majority of officers do their jobs well and your country is proud of you.

I can say that I have found in my short relationship with the staff association in this job that you are people of your word.

I am happy therefore that you have started the year out again in church, and I am sure that you will be rewarded by the guidance of the Almighty as you go about the dangerous work that you do on behalf of this country. The Government is pledged to give you the resources which you require to do the job.

As I told you in our last meeting there is a restructuring that is about to be announced in the not too distant future so as to meet the current demands of the Force. The insurance is coming and you know that time is quite tight and it will come before you know what happens.

Please let us continue the dialogue which we have maintained during the years. On behalf of the Government and more particularly the Prime Minister and the Minister for National Security, I thank you again and God bless you all.