THE FNM has accused the PLP of being soft on crime after National Security Minister Dr Bernard Nottage said approaches had been made about the severity of sentences for criminals.
Dr Nottage said: "Everything is under review. A lot of the persons who have been -- I can't call them victims -- who have been convicted have made certain approaches to us about the severity of some of the sentences."
He said the Court of Appeal had 'given an opinion on that, so that is an area we will have to review.'
Last night the FNM said: "The PLP campaigned asking for stiffer sentences for criminals. After a week which recorded a record nine murders, the Government having consulted with convicts has now determined sentences enacted by the FNM are too tough.
"Even before Parliament convenes the Minister of National Security has shown that he intends to take a soft approach to various criminal elements.
"He appears more concerned about criminals than the victims of crime."
Comments
TalRussell 11 years, 11 months ago
Exactly who is this anonymous person The Tribune is reporting to be speaking for the rejected FNM? Probably sounds strange that the new minister of the native's security would entertain input from the natives? Even those who scared stiff of being victimized during the FNM regime bat at power, were expressing their reservations behind closed doors.
Livestofish 11 years, 11 months ago
I really don't get it.. Isn't the plp that promise to suppress crime in this country.. I would like to think stiffer laws and punishments would be an effective method in slowing down crime... Why you so want to soften the punishments.... Bunch of hebitudes ..
daorderdillon 11 years, 11 months ago
What a way to crack down on crime first Fred say put condoms in the prison supporting homosexuality now dis
welly 11 years, 11 months ago
Before the advent of mandatory minimum sentences in criminal cases,l judges had unbridled discretion to impose whatever sentences they deemed appropriate, in their personal view, up to the statutory maximum. Because individual judges differ widely in their personal views about crime and sentencing, the sentences they imposed for similar offenses by similar defendants varied widely. What some judges treated as serious offenses, and punished accordingly, others minimized with much more lenient sentences. Criminally Minded people are risk takers by nature.Lack of certainty of serious sentences for serious crimes encourages, rather than deters, such risk takers to elevate their level of criminal activity in the hope that, if caught, they will be lucky enough to draw a lenient judge and receive a lenient sentence. The only possible deterrence for people who are willing to take extreme risks is to take away their cause for such hope.
Ironvelvet 11 years, 11 months ago
Has anyone ever thought of doing something about the high recidivism rate once prisoners are released? You can lock them up all you want, increase their sentences to forever, kill them, or pray for the Great Almighty to take them before their release....but will any of these do anything to ensure they will act right once released? NO it won't (just in case you were wondering).
I speak from the experience of having a family member who was sentenced to Her Majesty's Prison for 8 years. I remember having to vist him there and him remarking, "I get favors from other prisoners because I read and write their letters for them." I know this article is not about education, but another root of our crime problem. He also remarked that none of them had the skills to do anything even when they were released.
For those who can read/write, and have workable skills...what is being done about their psychological state of being that contributed to the prisoner becoming a resident of the prison? I say this because my family member read and wrote well, had a skill, was released and decided he would return to a life of crime. Selling drugs and the like, etc., etc. He later became a statistic of the Bahamas' murder rate (RIP).
You don't have to come from a broken family to become a criminal. You don't have to be someone who needs the acclimation of a skillset, but what are we doing to REHABILITATE our fellow Bahamians to prepare them for life on the outside without crime?
Tougher sentences only go so far, we only have so much space (which is a whole other conversation). We need to address REHABILITATION in a Psychosocial sense!
concernedcitizen 11 years, 11 months ago
i was once an idealist but age and watching has made me a pragmatist ..our problem starts with our birth rate and lack of stable fathers in the home ,,we ,like many in the region are having more children than our gdp can accomadate with well or average paying jobs ,,how many under the age of thirty single mothers with 4 to 6 kids do you know ...??i never see a father crying over these poor souls when there dead in the street ,,when we do disipline so many of us do it with anger and near violence ,,thats what our children learn as conflict resalution ,,it starts long before prison ..in my 20 i was bad and not doing rigth things ,thank God i saw the light ,the things the people i hung around with then said make me shudder now ..if i go sit under the tree now and theres 10 guys there 7 of them will talk openly about beating a women that did something they did not like ,,then if there arrested there mummy will put the house up for bail ,,check it out look whos outside the courts
perspective 11 years, 11 months ago
FIRST ORDER OF THE DAY........THE PLP CONSULTS CONVICTS FOR ITS DIRECTION ON CRIME. THIS SHOULD NOT BE A SURPRISE SINCE THEY WON THE ELECTION BY THROWING JUNGALESS PARTIES IN THE GHETTO FOR CRIMINALS............REAL TALK
concernedcitizen 11 years, 11 months ago
unbeleveable huh ,at least they could have consulted with the crimminals that are smart enough not to get locked up ..they wouldn,t even have to use phones ,,and do these locked up crimminals have their numbers ???
perspective 11 years, 11 months ago
THE PLP COURTS CRIMINALS AND PANDERS TO THE GHETTO........VERY SIMILAR TO THE GARRISONS ON JAMAICA.......I EXPECT 5 YEARS OF GARBAGE UNDER THIS GOVERNMENT.......ALREADY THEY ARE SUGGESTING THAT THEY WILL HAVE TO SCALE BACK ON THEIR PROMISES....THE USUAL PLP EXCUSE.
INGRAHAM COMPLETES 20 MAJOR PROJECTS SIMULTANEOUSLY WITHOUT A COMPLAINT DURING THE WORLDS GREATEST RECESSION.
perspective 11 years, 11 months ago
IN A FEW SHORT MONTHS THE PUBLIC ESP THE SWING VOTERS WILL BE WONDERING WHY THE HELL DID THEY FIRE HUBERT INGRAHAM....THE STANDARD BEARER OF PRODUCTIVE GOVERNANCE.........THEN IN A YEAR OR TWO THEY WILL HAVE OUTRIGHT REMORSE AND REGRET ABOUT THIS ELECTION OUTCOME
concernedcitizen 11 years, 11 months ago
i had my buyers remorse in 2002 ,,did not get hoodwinked again ,,thanks HAI miss you already ,go catch some fish ole boy you did plenty good for the Bahamas
BigD1 11 years, 11 months ago
Ditto
proudloudandfnm 11 years, 11 months ago
Well the PLP has to appease their base. And their base always has been and always will be criminals. No surprise here.
dd 11 years, 11 months ago
well when you look at the system of the bahamas the PLP has always been stating that they'll deal with the crime rate in the bahamas, but when you look at the situations, woman bring other men into their husbans home when the husban isnt home while he's out busting his back for her, na when he finds this out and catches her he has a choice 1. cut her up,beat her, kill her. 2.walk away and leave her....we all know not all men would walk away. So how on earth is the PLP going to stop crime, they'll sleep in every one house? the PLP and the FNM cant stop crime. PLP cant stop crime!
TheFixer 11 years, 2 months ago
They shouldn't be soft on crime no matter if we are talking about http://socialhospitality.com/2012/10/...">cyber criminals or other kind of crime. The law must be respected.
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