BAHAMAS

Fighting Caribbean crime

Located on shipping routes linking the Americas, the Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea, the Caribbean is an archipelago of 7,000 islands which are challenging for law enforcement to monitor.

With the region proving increasingly attractive to organized crime networks seeking a regional hub to engage in a multitude of serious crimes, Caribbean police forces face the serious crime which comes with drug trafficking, such as trafficking in firearms, people and counterfeit goods, in addition to money laundering and bulk cash smuggling.

The international characteristics of these crime areas and their links with organized crime groups around the world make the role of INTERPOL National Central Bureaus (NCBs) in the Caribbean fundamental to maintaining national and regional security.

INTERPOL in the Bahamas

To help prevent the Bahamas from becoming a trafficking hub because of its strategic geography, the INTERPOL NCB in Nassau uses its direct links to police forces in all continents to monitor the wider organized crime picture and take preventive measures against its harmful impact on Bahamian society.

The NCB is the Bahama’s lead police platform for sharing global data associated with regional crime. Through the exchange and cross-referencing of global operational intelligence, it enables the Royal Bahamas Police Force (RBPF) to detect, investigate and prevent the flow of illicit goods along its waterways and thereby safeguard national security.

The NCB is staffed by highly qualified officers from the RBPF and Royal Bahamas Defence Forces, with a Head of NCB who reports directly to the Commissioner of Police.

Bahamas law enforcement services

Created in 1840 and headed today by a Commissioner who answers to the Minister of National Security, the Royal Bahamas Police Force is made up of more than 4,000 police officers, reserves and police civilians.