The Tribune

By NICO SCAVELLA

Tribune Staff Reporter

nscavella@tribunemedia.net

AFTER two senior law enforcement officials last week gave “contradictory” comments on the status of sexual assault cases in the country, National Security Minister Dr Bernard Nottage yesterday said the authorities should focus on crime fighting strategies, rather than “focusing on differences.”

His comments were in response to an apparent “contradiction” between State Minister of National Security Keith Bell and Police Commissioner Ellison Greenslade – and to a lesser extent Central Detective Unit officer-in-charge Paul Rolle – regarding the number of reported cases of sexual assault in the Bahamas.

Yesterday, when questioned about the “contradiction” between Mr Greenslade and Mr Bell on the issue, Dr Nottage replied: “Rather than focusing on differences what we should focus on is the strategy to ensure that we get crime reduced to a minimum.”

When subsequently asked whether the government needed to “go back to the drawing board” to re-evaluate their approach to tackling crime, he said it was unnecessary as the government is “always at the drawing board”.

“We have programmes and plans and we continue to monitor their success and we make adjustments as necessary,” he added.

Last Wednesday Mr Greenslade said rape statistics were trending down compared to last year, a statement made amid increased focus on reported instances of sexual assault cases.

His comments appeared to contradict those made by Mr Rolle, however, who told The Tribune on October 7 that police are concerned about a “little spike” in reported sexual assaults.

Mr Rolle had raised the alarm after four women were raped over a three-week period – two while walking and two while driving their vehicles.

Last Thursday Mr Bell stood by his earlier comments that there has been a spike in rapes, but insisted that Mr Greenslade was correct when he told reporters that the overall reported cases of the crime are down.

He said he did not wish to enter a back-and-forth argument with the commissioner or other police officials over the statistics. Rather, he said, his job is to focus on how to prevent crimes and offer support to law enforcement with a view to ensuring the “cowards” are placed behind bars where they belong.

A week after Mr Rolle’s warning, a woman was sexually assaulted when a man forced his way into her home.

She was at her residence on Gibbs Corner when the man gained entry around 1am and sexually assaulted her before fleeing on foot.

The next day, another woman was raped by a man she knew who entered her home at Hay Street, police said.

In view of the most recent home invasions, and subsequently the country’s latest homicide early yesterday, Dr Nottage said law enforcement will review the particulars and “devise programmes to deal with it.”