The Tribune

By RICARDO WELLS

Tribune Staff Reporter

rwells@tribunemedia.net

MONTAGU MP Richard Lightbourn yesterday questioned the level of concern displayed by National Security Minister Bernard Nottage over the nation’s record homicide figures.

Mr Lightbourn urged Dr Nottage to stand up and convince the public that he and the Christie administration are serious about arresting the vexing issue.

His statements came after the brutal murders of a Queen’s College Elementary teacher at the Parkgate Road and Village Road intersection and the shooting death of a man in White’s Addition.

Mr Lightbourn said the tragic murders on Wednesday night warranted immediate police saturation of the Kemp Road, Village Road, Blair and Little Blair communities - all located within the boundaries of the Montagu constituency he represents.

He claimed that too many of his constituents are forced to go to bed to the sound of gunshots outside their homes.

“As the death toll in the Bahamas climbs into uncharted territory, the nation is stunned by the latest murders,” he claimed. “The fact that the Minister of National Security suggests that persons in the country receive with ‘glee’ the news that the murder count exceeds the previous record, demonstrates the fact that the Minister has clearly lost sight of reality.

“I am calling on the Minister of National Security to immediately address the recurrence of gun crimes throughout the country, but in particular in the Kemp Road area, and to advise the public as to what is being done to remove the guns from the streets of New Providence and in particular Montagu.

“I am calling for an immediate increase in police visibility and police saturation patrols of these areas given the recent murders and reported robberies. I am further requesting immediate monitoring and surveillance of prolific offenders in those areas by the police to deter further criminal activity.”

The Free National Movement (FNM) MP insisted that the government must do more to fulfil the plethora of promises made during its 2012 election campaign.

In June, Dr Nottage slammed Mr Lightbourn for insinuating that the country’s crime situation under the Christie administration was worse when compared to the FNM’s last term in office.

Dr Nottage claimed that with the exception of murders, all serious crimes were down in the country - claiming that he and his colleagues were winning the war on crime.

Wednesday’s murders took the total for 2015 to 130, three more than the previous highest toll in 2011.