By RIEL MAJOR
MAJOR crime categories continue to trend downward, according to Acting Commissioner of Police Emrick Seymour.
AC Seymour indicated to reporters yesterday the commissioner’s policing plan has been effective noting a decrease in not only murders, but in other crime categories.
“At the beginning of the year the commissioner of the police (Anthony Ferguson) mandated to ensure that he put in place a mechanism which (is) called the Commissioner’s Policing Plan for the year which speaks to how we intend to go about fighting crime and its vices here in The Bahamas,” said AC Seymour on the sidelines of an Interpol anti-smuggling workshop.
“For the most part, the mechanism that we have employed under the direction of the commissioner of police would have been put in place and the fact that we have seen a reduction in not only murders but a number of our crime stats is an indication that the mechanism that was put in place is in fact working. I just came out of a meeting (this morning) with the team and we meet every Tuesday morning and we are encouraged by the signs that we are seeing and we’ll continue to see going into the end of the year.”
He added: “One of the things you hear us say from time to time is that amount of crimes happening are caused by a small percentage of our population and so the vast majority Bahamian people are determined not to cause these elements of criminality to wreak havoc on the wider community and so in partnership with us all the programmes that we would have put in place in the partnership with members of the public we will continue to see a decrease in the elements of criminality. “
He said Commissioner Ferguson will release the new crime statistics at the beginning of next year and “of course members of the public will be able to see exactly how well we did at the end of the year but until such time we will continue to do what is required of us and the organisation to keep the criminal element at bay.
“We cannot allow, as I indicated, a small percentage of people to wreak havoc among the wider population, too much is at stake and so we will continue to fight.”
Last week, Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis told the press he was convinced Bahamians are no longer fearful of crime under his administration. AC Seymour echoed these remarks saying the public has seen a difference and is feeling a difference in their communities.
“We are getting that every day from members of the public and so that fear will continue to minimise because as crime starts to go down and, of course, what they see us rolling out they can go about their business as usual without being in fear of being a victim of a crime. We are pretty sure that the fear of crime is decreasing across the Commonwealth of The Bahamas.
“I can safely tell you that we are pretty pleased, pretty encouraged by the numbers we are seeing across the board in terms of the various categories of crime,” he said.
At last count, police said 83 murders had occurred so far this year. This represents a decrease of about 30 percent compared with 2017.
Comments
Well_mudda_take_sic 6 years ago
Just another spineless fella singing for his supper. He's as delusional as the dimwitted doc for whom he sings for his supper. LMAO
John 6 years ago
A 30% decrease in crime is a significant number, but with the current situation where there is almost a murder every day, and half a month left in the year, that figure can also change. And what the acting commissioner did not mention, is that while murders are down 30% and so are major crimes, this is a worldwide trend. Jamaica, for example, which has been recording 800 murders annually has seen its murder rate drop by 25%. And if the police were to analyze the statics of the murder victims, more than half the murders are still gang related or drug related or retaliation killings. But, with the exception of when someone is killed and the police give the famous, 'prolific offender', or "the victim was known to police", speech how many of these persons are otherwise being taken off the street otherwise. Or are they allowed to remain and continue recruiting young men to go out and kill or get killed? As for Bahamians feeling safe, that will be a slow process and will not happen overnight. There have been times under the former commissioner when the country experienced an entire month without a single murder. Then as persons began to feel safe and comfortable to move about, the murders started again and with a vengeance. So the best way to gain the confidence of the public is to keep the rate not only down, but decreasing.
Sign in to comment
OpenID