Royal Bahamas Police Force

The town of Nassau had a night watch and, as early as 1729, a constable existed in New Providence, where he worked in concert with the settlement's magistrate, justices of the peace and several other government officials.

[citation needed] In 1799, the Bahamas General Assembly passed an act which declared that all constables would have the same powers as their counterparts in Great Britain, which included the right to arrest an individual on the basis of reasonable suspicion.

[citation needed] On 1 March 1840, the Bahamas Police Force (BPF) was formed by sixteen men under the command of Inspector-General John Pinder.

By December 1840, the BPF's strength consisted of one inspector-general and a total of thirty sergeants, corporals and privates (the latter rank holding the same position as constables).

In the 21st century, the RBPF has over 4,000 officers and civilian employees and provides policing services to all residents and visitors in the Bahamas.

[4] The Royal Bahamas Police Force is headed by what is known as the Senior Executive Leadership Team (SELT).

Operation Rapid Strike is a project launched on 19 January 2011 at 5:00 pm by Commissioner Ellison Greenslade of the Royal Bahamas Police Force.

The stated aims of the project is to hunt persons involved in an array of crimes including murder, armed robberies, stabbings, break-ins, firearms related charges, etc.