By NICO SCAVELLA
Tribune Staff Reporter
nscavella@tribunemedia.net
POLICE Commissioner Ellison Greenslade said yesterday that crime continues to trend down in all categories except murder, adding that more has to be done to fight crime instead of believing that we can “arrest our way out of this”.
His comments came a day after the country’s murder toll for the year hit 67, after the discovery of two bodies in New Providence. Up to press time, four people had been murdered in the first nine days of this month, already tying the total number of homicides recorded for the whole month of June in 2014.
Commissioner Greenslade said yesterday: “Crime continues to trend down in all categories except the difficult category of murders. We still see multiple shootings…That is why I said initially, notwithstanding anything that we do that is good or positive, the public is concerned about the level of that egregious category of crime such as murders, and we have to, all of us, apply our minds to that. I do not believe that it is sufficient for any of us to form the impression that we can just arrest our way out of this.
“We have far too many healthy bodied young people, idle in our communities, many of them with a sense of hopelessness, waiting for an opportunity to engage in illicit activities. You can drive on any street of New Providence, any day, any night, and see it for yourselves.”
He added: “It’s a difficult conversation to have. It’s going to offend a lot of people. But if we want to have that conversation let’s be honest about it. Arresting Bahamians day in and day out is not a simple solution to the problem.”
Police were called to two separate crime scenes on Monday. A suspected vagrant was found naked and beaten to death in an abandoned building off East Street South. This find was just hours after police discovered the lifeless body of another man with a gunshot wound in his chest off Fire Trail Road.
Yesterday, Mr Greenslade said that despite police officers’ hard work, the illegal gun trade continues to flourish and affect crime.
“The evidence is clear. Since 2010, we have taken an excess of 2,200 illegal guns out of the hands of bad people in this country and over 30,000 rounds of ammunition. In many of those cases, those people, the perpetrators, have returned to our communities to pick up another gun. So how do we stop that is still the critical question.”
He added: “All of us are going to have to draw a line in the sand and say ‘enough is enough’. It cannot be a fair conversation, it cannot be a proper conversation to simply discuss a police organisation. This has to be about all sorts of reforms, across The Bahamas, at various levels, with every single sector of society playing their respective roles. We have the ability to do it.
“But we need to be on one page, we need to speak with a united voice, and we need to demonstrate – all of us – that we are sincere in making The Bahamas a safer place.”
At the beginning of this month, this newspaper reported that murders were up five per cent compared to the same time last year, based on an analysis into the country’s homicide figures for the first five months of 2015.
Comments
Bahamianpride 9 years, 5 months ago
Critical line" we cannot arrest our way out of this" smart man. He is right too many idle young men sitting around doing nothing. They are poorly educated & poorly socialized. Even those that try the prospects for them is Bahamian minimum wage. $100 to 150 a week vs hundreds or thousands commuting crime, crime wins.
GrassRoot 9 years, 5 months ago
are the numbers for corruption down too? aha, no such line item in the statistics you say Sir? ah, understood.
ThisIsOurs 9 years, 5 months ago
I wish he would stop saying that...I cannot believe the crime stats they do not make any sense whatsoever. The increase in murders points to the growing lack of respect for human life. If someone doesn't respect your life they will for sure not respect your property. So to say murder is increasing but everything else is under control makes no sense. None.
Further we live in a nation where Alfred Gray is allowed to hold a position of honour in the House and say that he didn't knowingly break the law, Dr Minnis is expelled, Charlton is free on streets and Mr Newbold is suspended...
DonAnthony 9 years, 5 months ago
The commissioner should really stop saying crime is down, NO ONE believes this except him. The truth is crime is terrible and getting worse. I recently went to my little police station in a sleepy family island to report two crimes. People were out the door waiting to report crimes. When I finally saw the officer he showed me a stack of crime reports on his desk, it was literally THREE inches high! Now if this is going on in a community of 1000 people what about Nassau. How many of these reports are accurately forwarded to headquarters when the incentive for all involved is to underreport crimes. And then how many crimes are simply not reported by the public at large? Until these statistics are compiled by an independent body I will never believe them, all parties currently have a vested interest to underreport so as not to alarm the public and make themselves look good.
asiseeit 9 years, 5 months ago
If the world knew how dangerous The Bahamas was and how Bahamians like to tief, you think we would have a tourist industry?
Bahamianpride 9 years, 5 months ago
The man is in a bad situation and forced to defend himself for a crime problem feed by social, political and economic factors out of his control. Lets face it many who want change will never report their family member who they know are comitting criminal acts, nor will politicians damand the prosecution of corrupt colleages. The comish knows comstat is b.s but the reality is no crime problem can be reduced without the people. Until we find a solution to deal with thousands of out of work young men who are poorly socialize, poorly educated forget about seeing anything but crime getting worse. You have to fight crime and fix the sources that breed more criminals simultaneously.
Zakary 9 years, 5 months ago
Right. I do not understand why the police force has to be blamed, oh wait I do - it's all politics. Newsflash! Police enforcement happens to be one of the most important forms of authority in our country. The more they are discredited and blamed, the harder it is for them to do their job. If this keeps up and all hell breaks lose, who will be at the forefront to protect us?
The criminals smile and grin when they see that the commissioner having to waste his time defending himself. He could do himself a favor though, and stop using the word "crime". That word has become political jargon because for a lot of people crime is murder.
asiseeit 9 years, 5 months ago
I support my police, they are doing the best they can. I truly believe that parliament and the judiciary through corrupt practices are the cause of our crime problem. We all know that they can be bought and if you do not know this, you are a fool. Leadership teaches those they lead and we have been give a very bad example to follow.
GrassRoot 9 years, 5 months ago
I agree. However, there are many corrupt police officers and police officers that through the closely knit family ties in the Bahamas refuse to go after perpetrators they know, either just because or out of fear for their own life or life of their family members. This circle of fear and corruption must be broken. We need outside public prosecutors that have no ties and no exposure in the country and police officers need training and protection and need to be taught how corruption works and what it does to the society.
Bahamianpride 9 years, 5 months ago
Zachary you're wrong, when I grew up in Nassau the most important forms of authority was parents, family, neigbors, teachers, religious leaders, etc. I could remember a time when adults would check u for being out of line as a child. That changed with American ghetto culture socialization and the drug culture in conjuction with bad selfish economic decisions by our leaders who did not protect the future of the country. Serious investments in education and family planning were not made. Many of the politicians & influential families only cared about getting rich. Fast forward 2015 u now have a infestation of criminals. Zachary when police have to be constantly present or constantly involved we have reach a point where we have failed. Now we're asking them to fix 2 generations of screw ups. Good luck with that... I tell my family members if u don't want to be turned in don't be a criminal around me, the solution starts with us, not the police.
duppyVAT 9 years, 5 months ago
The COP or his officers didnot shoot any of the murder victims ............. anti-social citizens did ................. he has political bosses to answer to and he has to complete his tenure.
Tarzan 9 years, 5 months ago
"All crime down except murder." Hey, nothing to see or worry about here. Move on.
GrassRoot 9 years, 5 months ago
Well all this is flawed. The only reason why the murder rate is up is because it is properly reported and accounted for by the newspapers, and the only reason why the rates for the other crimes go down is, because the news papers don't account for it. So the lying and cheating goes on. Melanie Griffith just reported that child abuse cases went up 22%. This is all true - statistically speaking of course. The reality is that people are sick and tired to report crimes, simply because nothing happens anyway to the perpetrators. Not a police issue, not a court issue, a leadership issue.
lionfish 9 years, 5 months ago
So child abuse is not a crime, eh? http://www.tribune242.com/news/2015/jun…
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