The Tribune

EDITOR, The Tribune.

ON March 16, 2017, the United States Embassy in Nassau sent out another warning to the American public.

Despite the fact that 2017 is still young, the US Embassy has already issued three warnings for the year.

What does this say about our country? Tourism is our number one industry.

When tourists come to The Bahamas, as Bahamians, we should want for them to enjoy themselves.

Tourists should never have to worry about the possibility of becoming a victim of a crime. Without tourists, many households would not be able to put food on their tables, many people would be without jobs.

Therefore, we cannot afford to have criminals targeting tourists. We do not want them to go back home and spread the word to their families and friends that The Bahamas is not a safe place to vacation.

If such horrible news is spread far enough it could possibly destroy our country. Something has to be done now to prevent this problem from getting worse.

The US Embassy warned Americans about a scam called the “good Samaritan theft scam”. An individual would tamper with a vehicle in advance. Once the driver attempts to fix the vehicle, a nearby “good Samaritan” (possibly the same person who is the cause of the damage), offers assistance.

Since the driver is distracted, another individual uses the opportunity to steal the property from inside the car.

The US Embassy warned Americans to be extremely careful while driving in The Bahamas.

It is such a disgrace that vicious criminals are targeting innocent tourists. When people are on vacation, the last thing they think about is the possibility of becoming a victim of a crime. They are carefree and they put their guards down.

However, this also makes it easier for offenders to attack them. The best time for an offender to strike is when a person’s guard is down, because that person has little protection.

The fact that offenders are taking advantage of tourists is sickening. Tourists should not have to keep their guards up while on vacation. They should not have to worry and be on the lookout for potential offenders.

One of the main reasons people go on vacation is to escape from their worries, not to run into more. It’s sad that offenders are now using the fact that tourists are carefree to their advantage, and are not taking into consideration the long-term effects their actions can have on our country.

It breaks my heart that offenders are so desperate for victims that they are eager to put innocent vulnerable tourists in harm’s way.

The fact that offenders are taking advantage of the vulnerability of tourists is upsetting, but that is not the most upsetting part of the story.

The most upsetting part is that when Chief Superintendent Clayton Fernander, the officer in charge of the Central Detective Unit, was told about the “good Samaritan theft scam” he claimed that he was “unaware” of it and “would have to look into it”.

What a disgrace! How does this make our country look? The US Embassy is aware, but the officer in charge of the Central Detective Unit of The Bahamas is not?

Even if he was unaware, he should not have claimed that he was!

How can the Chief Superintendent be unaware of the crimes going on in his country?

Then he responds by saying he “will look into it”.

Well when does he plan on doing that? Next year?

Time is of the essence. As if the scam itself wasn’t shameful enough, his response was double the embarrassment.

Our country should be striving to reduce the crime rate, and having a Chief Superintendent who is unaware of the crimes going on in the country does not do us any justice.

Offenders are looking for new victims and they are delighted to find out that tourists are an easy target.

This scam must be stopped immediately, before it spirals out of control and ends up harming our country. Tourists should be able to enjoy their stay in The Bahamas without having to worry about becoming a victim. For the sake of our country, offenders need to look elsewhere for new victims.

TYLAH MURRAY

Nassau,

April 10, 2017.