URBAN Renewal is set to launch a door-to-door survey in New Providence in an effort to determine the prevalence of factors that lead to crime.
Announcing the survey as part of Operation Ceasefire yesterday, Minister of National Security Dr Bernard Nottage said it will investigate questions such as: living conditions, crime, social behaviour, special circumstances of households, employment status, education, and persons with special needs.
“It would be appreciated if residents would express their views frankly and relate their experiences as best they can, so that the information collected is as accurate as possible,” Dr Nottage said.
“We are seeking to gather information so that government’s interventions are focused and meet the real needs of individuals and households in the communities.
The minister – who represents Bain and Grants Town, one of the areas targeted in the survey – said it is often suggested that MPs already know the problems in their constituencies.
“The truth of the matter is, that while we have interacted with persons in the communities, and can give an overview of the major concerns, what we are now seeking to do, is to collect data and have it properly analysed, so that we can more effectively utilise the resources that are available to government in targeting issues facing these communities,” he said.
Dr Nottage said the government also wants to pay attention to abandoned buildings and homes that are plagued by vandalism, which tend to be used to facilitate the sale of drugs, prostitution and other illicit activities.
“We are also seeking to review the state of rental properties in these areas, to ensure that landlords are providing safe and decent housing for the poor or persons with little means,” he said.
“We also want to identify each and every person with disabilities and ensure that they receive the care and attention, which is required for their well being.”
Phase One of the survey will be conducted in Bain and Grants Town, Centreville and Englerston.
Dr Nottage said: “These areas were chosen based on their population density, perceived living conditions and the crime statistics for 2013. The crime statistics clearly demonstrated that there were more murders committed in these three areas than any other in New Providence.”
“We must remember that areas like Bain and Grants Town, Centreville and Englerston were once the life blood of our City. It was never meant for these areas to be so densely populated or for the living conditions to be in the current state, but they are, and we must find ways to provide better living conditions and to reclaim the deteriorating areas of these communities.
“We intend to visit each and every household in these constituencies and questions will be posed to the head of each household or the adult person who is at home at the time of the interviewer’s visit.”
The survey questionnaire is in two parts. The first relates to social and economic conditions and the second to the concept of crime in communities.
The Inspector in charge of the Four Urban Renewal Offices in the target constituencies will supervise the administration of the survey.
The data will be collected by individuals who are familiar with the communities, Dr Nottage said.
They will include trained social workers, officers of the Royal Bahamas Police Force and Royal Bahamas Defence Force, who are normally assigned to the Urban Renewal Offices, and individuals from the communities.
“They are chosen because of their discipline, courteous approach and the fact of their knowledge of the areas,” he said.
This first phase of the survey is expected to be completed within a period of six to eight weeks, after which other areas will be surveyed until the process is completed.
Once the data has been analysed, Dr Nottage said, Urban Renewal will use it “to continue to address the pressing needs of residents in order to bring more targeted and comprehensive relief to the communities, reduce criminal activities and improve living conditions.”
Meanwhile, over the past two weeks, he said, the government has also hardened its approach to dealing with crime after it happens.
“With the acquisition of additional vehicles, saturation patrols in the inner city communities has been intensified, a Flying Squad has been activated to better monitor prolific criminals, and intelligence gathering capabilities has been enhanced.
“The Firearms Unit has been fully resourced and has been extremely successful at retrieving guns from tips provided by the general public. More manpower has been brought to the front lines using police reserves.”
Comments
ThisIsOurs 10 years, 3 months ago
The data will be collected by individuals who are familiar with the communities
i.e. Nosey neighbours
ThisIsOurs 10 years, 3 months ago
Phase One of the survey will be conducted in Bain and Grants Town, Centreville and Englerston
You hear that Rory? "Phase One"
killemwitdakno 10 years, 3 months ago
The paid puppet left already.
GrassRoot 10 years, 3 months ago
I hope the UR people know how to read the questions they are supposed to ask.
hj 10 years, 3 months ago
Ok people data needs to be collected. Who lives there,how much money he makes,is he voting PLP,FNM or DNA,does he writes letters to the press,does he play numbers,is he on facebook/twitter etc. Data needs to be collected
ThisIsOurs 10 years, 3 months ago
If your next door neighbor shows up on your doorstep asking you about your activities and how much you make, how much your spouse makes what you do during the week, what will you say then? A neighbor who has absolutely no training in anything, social services, statistics..NOTHING. Just a campaign worker. Handing out flyers door to door, that's it
My objection is not to the effort to collect the data it is good to know your people. This govt has not shown me to date that they can implement anything in a professional manner. How do we know how that data will be used? Usually at census time there's a whole heap of advertisement about the process.
It sounds like a census to me.
But anyway, they say this is a "survey" as far as I know no one is legally obligated to complete a survey.
B_I_D___ 10 years, 3 months ago
Someone stated previously, all this data is collected to some extent with the Census. Done by a trained and specialized team of people with specific qualifications who know how to handle the acquired data with the sensitivity that privacy that goes along with that...the UR team gonna gossip all that around town and probably scope out your house and let the local thugs know which house to hit next!!
ThisIsOurs 10 years, 3 months ago
Exactly!
asiseeit 10 years, 3 months ago
I will not give them one word on anything until they implement Freedom Of Information. You want to know about me but you work for me and i am kept in the dark by you! You sleazy Politricans are the ones that need to give US, the people, the information.
ThisIsOurs 10 years, 3 months ago
Agreed, let Gowen Bowe go to each and every one of them and ask how much money they make, how they this get this million dollars on their bank account, how they can afford to pay school fees, eat and drive a Lexus. Investigate each of their business ties and whether there's a conflict of interest. Investigate ties to illegal webshop operations. They all want to be maximum leaders , come up with plans where the rules never apply to them. I can bet if there was a curfew some govt minister would be driving around in the dark to/from their sweetheart and their reply to the officer that pulled them over would be, dont you know I'm so and so, what's your number officer? Let me speak to the commissioner.
It really is disgusting when you think about the amount of corruption and sense of entitlement in that body.
B_I_D___ 10 years, 3 months ago
It's owed to them, they were slaves after all. Nobody can tell them what to do any more...they don't have to answer to any massa except themselves.
John 10 years, 3 months ago
I hope the survey tells the government:
S T O P listening to foreigners and calling young Bahamians, dumb, lazy and untrustworthy.
F I X the education system so that young people get more training in their fields of interest. After grade 9, if persons are not academically inclined, put them in trade school where they can learn and earn an income, rather than leaving school with a "D" average and marked as a failure.
S T O P emasculating the young males in this country and forcing them to fit in your mold. Not every young man wants to work in a hotel, bank or office setting.
4 C R E A T E M O R E B L U E C O L L A R J O B S for young people who want to work these types of jobs. Young men especially. Some want to do physical labour and should not be denied the opportunity to gainful employment.
5 DO SOMETHING ABOUT THE DRUG CULTURE....in a few years marijuana may be fully legal in the US for medicinal and recreational use. What effect will this have on the Bahamas. Do more educational programs to inform of the dangers of smoking and include bedes in them because no one seems to know what is in these Chinese cigarettes but they do set people off.
DO some educational programming on family planning and family re-planning. The fact that at least half the population is being born out of wedlock and bred in single family homes is having a toll on crime and social life in this country.
MAKE BAHAMAS FOR BAHAMIANS FIRST and stop making it appear that the foreign investor is king and that everything is catered to the tourist. When Bahamians are made to feel a part of their own country many of the negative behaviors will disappear
John 10 years, 3 months ago
ADD TWO MORE:
GET MORE MALES in the public school system, if only retired police, customs immigration and other civil servants.
PUT MORE FUN CLASSES in the school curriculum to keep the interest of the students.
sheeprunner12 10 years, 3 months ago
This is how ridiculous this UR programme is becoming.
Just a week ago Dr. Nicolette Bethel gave a great assessment of UR1.0 vs UR 2.0.
This government is about duplicating as many programmes to create quagmire as possible:
Just a few examples.
Urban Renewal vs Social Services National Training Agency vs BTVI Min of Youth & Sports vs National Sports Authority MOYSC vs JCNP vs Carnival Festival
And the list goes on......................
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