Acts Affecting The Royal Bahamas Defence Force
1. ACTS The acts referred to are acts of Parliament, they have been carefully put together by lawyers, debated in the House of Assembly, approved by the Senate and passed by the Governor General. These acts are the law of the land, they cannot be treated lightly nor ignored. Some of these acts of Parliament directly effect our work, they tell us what we are allowed to do within the law. It is important that you as marines know what is required of you.
2. THE DEFENCE
ACT 1979 The Defence Act established the Defence Force
and provided the rules for the employment of the force and the establishment
of a National Security Council. The act gave the terms of enlistment and
discharge and the powers of a member of the Defence Force. It also gave
the rules for service discipline, service offences, punishment and trial.
3. THE DEFENCE REGULATIONS 1984 The Defence Regulations provide details in various subjects and give instruction on how to interpret the Defence Act. The regulations provide the rank structure of the service plus the pay and pensions regulations. On the discipline side the regulations give explicit rules for the conduct of investigations, rules of procedure for offences and for court martial. They give clear rules on the punishment by imprisonment and treatment of persons detained.
4. CUSTOMS MANAGEMENT ACT The Defence Act gives members of the Royal Bahamas Defence Force certain powers under the Customs Management Act. These include power of search and arrest, all marines must be well informed of their powers.
5. FISHERIES RESOURCES ACT One of the duties of the Royal Bahamas Defence Force is the prevention of illegal fishing by foreigners and the safeguarding of certain types of fish and particular areas by the prevention of indiscriminate fishing. It is necessary for all personnel to understand the fishing laws.
6. DANGEROUS DRUGS ACT It is quite clear that the Defence Force is to prevent trafficking or transit of illegal drugs. The Dangerous Drugs Act outlines particular rules and gives the Defence Force as Peace Officers power of arrest.
7. IMMIGRATION ACT The main duty of the Defence Force in regard to illegal immigrants is in finding them onboard craft at sea or on uninhabited islands in the Bahamas. The act gives powers of arrest to Customs Officers and Police Officers.
8. FIREARMS ACT The Firearms Act assists the Defence Force personnel who search craft. The act explains that weapons must be declared by visitors and it describes illegal weapons.
9. The acts of Parliament are those which effect our daily work. All personnel are required to understand them to enable the policing work of the force to be carried out fairly, with confidence and in accordance with the law.
