NASSAU, BAHAMAS — While acknowledging crime could escalate as a knock-on effect of the continued easing of restrictions of the emergency orders, Minister of National Security Marvin Dames said the Royal Bahamas Police Force has ramped up its presence and expanded its strategic efforts.
His comments came ahead of two separate shooting deaths yesterday.
“We know that the curfews would have had some impact,” Dames told Eyewitness News.
“We don’t know the level of impact because, I mean because you have had curfews all over the world and crimes were still occurring.
“Sometimes you could be in a particular community and be committing crimes within that community.
“So, we haven’t been able to measure the impact of the lockdowns on crime itself.
“I would go [out on a] line and say that it would have had some impact, but now we’re open for business again.
“And so, persons would say now we’re open for business again what does that mean; that crime will quadruple? And so, the police are prepared.”
During the height of the pandemic, the emergency orders included a 24-hour curfew and weekend lockdown.
As of June 13, the weekend lockdowns was discontinued.
The 24-hour was replaced with a 9pm to 5am nightly curfew, which has since been pushed back to 10 pm.
Additionally, The Bahamas reopened to international commercial carriers as of July 1, welcoming an influx of visitors, though protracted.
In recent weeks, Dames has addressed growing concerns the impact the economic climate and rate of joblessness could have on criminal activity.
He said the public should feel the ramped-up presence of the police force, noting the individuals responsible for several violent incidents were caught swiftly.
“There is no doubt about it; the commissioner has his plan, his crime plan, and if you travel throughout New Providence, I myself would have gotten any number of video clips from social media and anytime there is an incident, there are like four and five [police] cars coming from all different directions,” the minister said.
“We would have had an incident in Eleuthera the other day and the police were successfully able to close that in quick time, the shooting that is.
“You had an incident I recall in Pinewood Gardens, the Nassau Village area, where someone was shot and killed and within minutes after the incident the police were able to successfully make an arrest.
“There were any number of armed robberies in recent times where the bandits were caught leaving the scene.”
On June 21, a man was stabbed as he walked along Rosewood Street, in Pinewood Gardens.
He died in hospital.
Authorities arrested a man, 28, in connection with the incident.
Just days later, a man was shot dead while standing on his porch in Nassau Village following an argument with two men who approached the Jackson Street resident.
The suspects left the scene in a white bus.
Police arrested them a short while later following a car chase.
Yesterday, a man shot on Melthorn Street, off Pineyard Road died in hospital.
The victim was identified as Leslie ‘Swiper’ Darville, 26, a father of one.
Hours later a 30-year-old father of three was killed and two other injured during a shooting on Rosewood Street.
The victim was identified as Renaldo Rashard Nairn.
Crime dropped seven percent in 2019 compared to the previous year.
As of June, crime overall was down three percent for the five months of the year compared to the same period in 2019.
The statistics outlined during the budget debate, reflect murders dropped 11 percent, attempted murder declined 79 percent; armed robberies fell by 35 percent and robbery by 14 percent.
Additionally, rapes saw a 30 percent decline and unlawful sexual intercourse declined by 41 percent.
Overall, crimes against persons were down 31 percent.
