The Royal Bahamas Police Force (RBPF) could face a manpower shortage after 150 officers who participated in a training course were sent into quarantine on Monday for at least five days.
Several officers participating in a course for corporals, sergeants and inspectors tested positive for COVID-19, exposing dozens of their colleagues to the virus.
Some of their colleagues on the force fear that having that many officers in the ranks of Corporal, Sergeant and Constable in quarantine at the same time could pose a threat to national security.
The force is currently battling an increase in murders and armed robberies with a Chippingham man being shot in the head on Sunday night and a man being killed during a triple shooting in Garden Hills last week.
Murders increased by 52 percent while armed robberies rose by over 40 percent, according to Minister of National Security Marvin Dames who provided crime statistics in the House of Assembly last week during the budget debate.
In 2020, the force reported 165 COVID-19 cases between March and September.
Nearly 500 RBPF staff were quarantined during that period.