Assistant Commissioner Stephen Dean talking to the media yesterday.
By SANCHESKA BROWN
Tribune Staff Reporter
sbrown@tribunemedia.net
THE Royal Bahamas Police force has doubled the number of officers on patrol after three men were killed over the Independence Day holiday weekend, according to Assistant Commissioner of Police Stephen Dean.
Speaking to the media moments after a man was shot and killed off East Street South, ACP Dean said the RBPF has mounted a number of special operations, including putting every available officer on the street, to reassure members of the public that despite a rise in murders, Bahamians can still “move freely around the country.”
The most recent killings pushed the country’s murder toll to 80 for the year, according to The Tribune’s records. That is a significant rise from 12 months agor: by July 7, 2014, the country had recorded 65 murders for the year.
“We want to reassure members of the public that despite the three homicides over the weekend, the police remain resolute and we will be out there in full numbers. We have doubled the troops on the streets and we have taken all the stops out. Everyone is on the road now,” ACP Dean said.
“Additionally, we have mounted a number of operations consistent with our policing priorities for 2015. We have also arrested a number of persons – just last night we arrested a number of persons who are hell bent on committing crimes. We continue to target them, particularly the ones who have been in and out of jail. These are major concerns to us. These persons who are in and out of the system, we will continue to pursue them. We have to reassure members of the public that they can move freely around on this island. That is why we have brought out all the police units and they will be patrolling all the areas of New Providence.”
ACP Dean also said police officers cannot fight crime on their own and asked the public for help.
“We are saying again to the parents, talk to your sons in particular. If you know someone who is in possession of a firearm, turn that person in,” he said.
“That very firearm that you know about can cause your death or the death of a loved one or the death of an innocent citizen. We need the public’s help. We cannot do this alone.
“Most of our major crimes have been solved with the help of members of the public and so we are really, really asking for your help.”
Last Wednesday, National Security Minister Dr Bernard Nottage announced that the government secured a $20m loan from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) intended to assist the government in preventing crime.
Dr Nottage said his ministry has been working for several years to secure the loan and make the multi-layered programme it will fund a reality.
His ministry, he said, will be primarily responsible for using the loaned funds, but will work in conjunction with the Office of the Attorney General, the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Social Services.
Comments
sheeprunner12 8 years, 9 months ago
Who da hell is dis ugly man???? Just put him out on da streets and scare everyone ............ BOL
When will they get the memo that it doesnt matter how many police we put in uniform ........ it has to do with greed, jealousy and crime .................. police on the beat cant solve that
Cobalt 8 years, 9 months ago
Ahh Lord. Don't do Mr. Dean like dat. He's a nice man. He can't help the way he looks.
But you're right. Placing an increased number of police officers on the streets won't curtail the crime problem. The homes are the problem. The moral fiber that once held our homes together has been destroyed. Parents are no longer raising their children in the ways and teachings of The Lord. Thus, the homes have become a farming ground for criminal activity. Until parents properly raise their children, crime will continue to spiral out of control.
jusscool 8 years, 9 months ago
Yea SR12 by da looks of him . He fightin his own battle!
John 8 years, 9 months ago
Whenever you talk about the crime problem, murder especially, everyone seems to get sensitive and extremely defensive. But the facts are the facts and this country is well on its way to setting a new murder record this year. And while saturation patrols and increased police manpower tends to reduce other crimes like robbery, housebreaking, vehicle theft etc., it seems that it doesn't help in reducing the murders in this country. The fact is that many of the murders today are well planned and long meditated. The killers are determined to get their target and their sole intention is to leave him dead. The fact that some murder victims spend, three, four even five years in jail but the minute they set foot back on the street, they are killed, tends to say,' that's how long their killer been waiting for them." That is how much they were determined to have that person dead. That is a serious thing right there. That is not a lack of conflict resolution, it is more serious than that, warfare even. So maybe it is time for the police to bring in sociologists or criminologists to create profiles of not only the killers but also the victims of murder. How do you change that mindset and that erase that level of determination to have someone dead? We must remember to, in the quest for a solution to the murder problem, that it is not only happening here in the Bahamas, but it is a worldwide problem. And many of the killings are similar to what is happening here. Persons are being hunted down and assininated. Just recently President Obama, said the number of murders and killings happening in America today is much too much for a modern society. SO what went wrong? In the Bahamas we know that most of the murders still happen in the Bain and Grants Town and Nassau Village and Pinewood areas. Most of the victims are still male between the ages of 17 and 30 years. (This is something that needs investigation because if the murders were due to rifts and conflicts between certain individuals, the age of murderers and victims should increase, so this tends to indicate some gang activity).Many of the victims have previous criminal activity and/or are connected with drugs or gang activity. A number persons who are accused of murder either go on to commit additional murders and/or they themselves become victims of a killer. Most murders are by shooting. .
John 8 years, 9 months ago
Then the two most troubling changes in the way murder is committed today as compared to a few years ago: (1) Murder is no longer carried out under the darkness of night or even when the victim is alone. It is done in broad daylight with many people around sometimes. The killer does very little to disguise himself or to hide his identity. (2) Most persons who are shot to death today are riddled with bullets, in most cases more than five shots as compared to recent times, when most victims were shot between 1 and 3 times. So the police need to start using these facts to build profiles of not only the killers but also the victims. Then they need to intervene before the fact, whether it means chasing gangs out of neighbor hoods or preventing drug activity and drug wars. The statistics show that additional police presence alone in 'hot' crime areas will not curb murders, at least not the ones we are having, because the murder rate is now increasing at an increasing, if not alarming rate.
John 8 years, 9 months ago
Just in care we think the Bahamas is the only country fighting this battle: . "***According to a report in USA Today, during the first half of this year the murder rates in a number of cities are exceeding those logged during the first half of 2014.
For example, this year Milwaukee has more than doubled its number of murders, with 84 compared to last year’s 41. Chicago has seen an increase from 171 last year to 203 this year.
Notably the two areas that saw uprisings following police-involved deaths of unarmed black men St. Louis and Baltimore, also saw spikes. Baltimore the first half of the year has experienced 155 murders compared to 105 last year. St. Louis has had 93 murders this year compared with 58 in the same timeframe last year.
The number of murders in Milwaukee has doubled! The problem here is despite the increases, the Bahamas is recording more murders per capita than most of these metropolitan cities.
Sign in to comment
Or login with:
OpenID