Crime down by 14% for first quarter

Crime down by 14% for first quarter
National Security Minister, Marvin Dames.

The overall crime rate in The Bahamas is down by some 14 per cent for the first quarter of 2018, according to Minister of National Security Marvin Dames.

The statistics were announced by the minister during the opening of the House of Assembly Wednesday.

“We are seeing the overall figures trending downward,” said Dames.

“Combined, both crimes against the person and the property, are down so far and, we’re kind of finishing up the first quarter here, by 14 per cent nationwide. Specifically, armed robberies are down some 31.8 per cent, murders to date are down some 45.2 per cent, stolen vehicles are down some 13 per cent and the list goes on.”

Earlier in March, Dames offered 2017 statistics on major crime stating that there were 122 homicides on record, with 55 victims under the age of 25.

Last year also saw 13 attempted murders, one incident of manslaughter, 52 recorded rapes, 11 attempted rapes, 146 acts of unlawful sexual intercourse, 575 armed robberies, 115 robberies and 16 attempted robberies on record according to crime statistics released by the Royal Bahamas Police Force (RBPF) in November 2017.

There were also some 54 traffic fatalities.

“These victims had prior contact with the police and the motives in these matters were usually due to conflict or retaliation,” he said.

While Dames admitted that it is still early in the year, he said that that law enforcement officials still have a lot to do to combat the criminal element.