It is startling that the number of armed robberies and murders in 2002 has increased over the previous year’s figures.
This suggests that there is a greater need for a total community effort to reduce crime and the fear of crime in The Bahamas.
The latest figures showed a 17.3 percent increase in murders in 2002 over 2001 figures. Last year, there were 52 homicides, compared with 43 in 2001. This meant a 77 percent detection rate for 2002. This also meant that the police have failed to solve 23 percent of murders reported last year.
In our view, the number of murders is still far too high. In the majority of cases firearms are the weapons of choice. This is so despite the fact that the police are reporting a 22 percent increase in firearm seizures in 2002. A total of 147 firearms were seized in 2001. This figure jumped to 188 in 2002.
The police should be commended for its efforts in taking more guns off the streets. However, the sobering fact is that there are still too many firearms in the hands of ruthless criminals.
A number of initiatives are planned to strip the criminals of firearms this year. Operation Spider Web, Summer Storm 11 and High Octane were just some of the anti-firearms initiatives launched over the last two years.
What is also troubling is an increase in sexual offences over the period under review. In 2002 138 rapes were reported to the police, compared with 111 in 2001. This represented a 24 percent increase. The detection rate was 42 percent. But there was a five percent decline in unlawful sexual intercourse, with 182 reported in 2001, and 174 last year.
These figures are much too high and it shows that our women and girls are increasingly under attack by the criminal element. There is a compelling argument for the return of the cat-o’-nine tails. It is time the government stops dragging its feet and use ‘the cat.’
We wonder if there is any correlation between the 17 percent jump in murders and the perception that murderers are not receiving their just punishment under the law. Capital punishment is still the law of The Bahamas, and any government which fails to uphold the law is itself acting criminally.
These latest figures suggests that we are in for a difficult ride in 2003. While the police are at the forefront of the battle against crime, the wider society is called upon to do its part to control this monster.
This does not detract from the fact that the government must take the lead in this fight. It must provide the police with adequate resources and sufficient manpower to put an appreciable dent in crime. Nothing less will do. We should like to challenge to the government to do its constitutional duty and uphold the laws of the land.
Editorial, The Nassau Guardian
