PRESS RELEASE / OPEN LETTER
PRESS RELEASE / OPEN LETTER
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date: September 6, 2025
The 2nd Open Letter to the Royal Bahamas Police Force
Public Shaming is Not Justice: A Call for Reform in The Bahamas’ Justice System
Maybe it’s not my place, but I cannot ignore the pain this practice is causing.
I am urging the Royal Bahamas Police Force (RBPF) to immediately end the posting of people’s photos for petty crimes on social media. When you share these images before individuals have even stood before a judge, you are not only undermining the presumption of innocence, you are permanently damaging their reputations, their opportunities, and their futures.
International human rights standards, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (Article 11) and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (Article 14), affirm that every person is entitled to the presumption of innocence until proven guilty in a court of law. By releasing names and photographs publicly before a fair trial, this principle is being violated.
As a member of the Commonwealth of Nations and a signatory to CARICOM’s Charter of Civil Society, The Bahamas has pledged to uphold fairness, human dignity, and justice. This current practice of public shaming runs contrary to those commitments and weakens the trust between citizens and the very institutions meant to protect them.
A single Facebook post may disappear from the timeline, but the stigma it creates will follow a person for years, sometimes for life. This is not justice. It is public humiliation. It turns the court of law into the court of public opinion, and the scars it leaves can push people into depression, hopelessness, and even suicide.
The Defamation Problem
What the RBPF is doing is not only damaging, it is, in fact, technically defamation of character. Under Bahamian law, defamation occurs when a person’s reputation is lowered in the eyes of society by statements or publications.
When police publish a person’s name and photo alongside the words “wanted” or with details of alleged charges, that individual is immediately branded as guilty in the eyes of the public, even if they are never convicted or if charges are later dropped.
Such labeling lowers public esteem, ruins employment prospects, and can destroy families. That meets the very definition of defamation. While the RBPF may argue they are acting under “public interest,” the harm remains real, severe, and often irreversible. If the police cannot guarantee that every person they post will be found guilty in a court of law, then they are publishing defamatory material by default.
Falling Behind Modern Standards
What is even more concerning is that The Bahamas is falling behind modern policing standards. In the United Kingdom, from which our justice system is historically derived, police do not routinely publish photos of individuals accused of minor crimes. Suspect photos are typically released only in cases of serious crimes or when there is an immediate risk to public safety. By contrast, our current practice of broadcasting photos for petty offenses reflects an outdated approach that damages both individuals and the credibility of law enforcement itself.
And yet, another question must be asked: why have the judges of The Bahamas not spoken out against this practice? Why has the Bahamas Bar Association, charged with upholding the standards of law, not demanded that this routine violation of presumption of innocence come to an end? Does their silence suggest quiet approval, or worse, does it speak to a justice system so compromised that reform must begin from the inside out?
If the guardians of the law remain silent while injustice is normalized, then who is truly protecting the rights of Bahamians?
A Call to Action
Bahama Drama is pleading with the RBPF: please stop this harmful practice. Reform this outdated approach. But more than that, we call upon the judiciary and the Bahamas Bar Association to finally take a public stand. Silence is complicity. The people deserve clarity: is this practice legal, or is it an abuse of power dressed up as procedure?
Justice should never come at the cost of dignity. The Bahamas deserves a justice system that protects both public safety and human rights, a system that reflects modern standards, not one that lags behind them.
SIDEBAR: What is Defamation in Bahamian Law?
Defamation is the publication of any statement or material that damages a person’s reputation.
To prove defamation, three elements must exist:
1. Publication: The statement/photo must be shared with someone other than the subject.
2. Identification: The subject must be clearly identifiable (e.g., by name or photo).
3. Harm to Reputation: The material must lower the person’s standing in the community.
Posting photos of people labeled “wanted” or accused of crimes before conviction checks all three boxes.
The defense of “public interest” exists, but it does not erase the reputational harm or restore dignity once lost.
Issued by:
Bahama Drama
Contact:
(242) 817-9293
Facebook: Bahama Drama
If this post gets no traction, the powers that be are going to take that as a stamp of approval to their behavior and continue to break their own laws, there by proving that there’s another class of citizens who comfortably live above the laws we are bound to follow or get thrown into Foxhole prison over even one. You need to step up, if only for this one time.
Related stories
Biometric Voter Cards Go Local, PAC Digs Into $1.5m Vouchers, and Some PMH Wards Relocate
Late-afternoon Bahamas Islands Briefing for Wednesday, October 14, 2026: Exuma’s Business Outlook is tomorrow;…
PUBLIC MESSAGE TO ALL BAHAMA DRAMA FOLLOWERS
We are taking Bahama Drama to the next level, and we want you to…
Eleuthera Residents Threaten to Stop Paying BPL Bills, Treasure Cay’s $177m Sale Nears Closing, and a “Miracle Baby” Gets Her Wheels
Afternoon Bahamas Islands Briefing for Wednesday, October 14, 2026: Eleuthera residents threaten to withhold…
Join the conversation
No comments yet. Be the first.