The Tribune

By DENISE MAYCOCK

Tribune Freeport Reporter

dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

CRIME is down 10 percent in Grand Bahama, Police Commissioner Anthony Ferguson reported yesterday. Of the 95 murders police recorded in 2019, Commissioner Ferguson said 10 occurred in Grand Bahama; two each in Abaco and Bimini, and one in Eleuthera.

He noted that murders were high in the month of September through October with a total of 15 murders – 13 in New Providence and two in Grand Bahama.

Commissioner Ferguson also spoke about deaths and missing people due to Hurricane Dorian. He said following the storm’s wrath in Abaco, there were 60 deaths and 32 reported missing persons. While in Grand Bahama, there were 11 deaths and 22 missing persons. This would bring the official death toll to 71.

He stated that of the 11 bodies recovered in Grand Bahama, nine were properly identified and two are pending DNA results to confirm identification.

Commissioner Ferguson stated that the figures released by police of the Dorian death toll are what have been reported to the RBPF. “While there may be questions regarding the death toll in Abaco, be reminded that the RBPF can only release what was reported to us. We recognise, however, that the best plan one has could not have mitigated against the act of God,” he said.

“With Hurricane Dorian, we saw the devastation, the humanitarian needs, and the coming together of Bahamians in support of each other,” he added.

The police chief indicated that the need for adjustment to their policing strategies was realised early, and officers from New Providence were immediately dispatched to Abaco to police the island.

Since Hurricane Dorian, he noted that over 400 officers were deployed to Abaco on rotation and that officers who were stationed there before the storm impacted had to be relieved.

During that time, he reported that persons from all sectors travelled to Abaco, including some “criminal elements.”

“This impacted the relief effort and as a result, eight persons were arrested for possession of illegal firearm and ammunition,” said Commissioner Ferguson, who reported that a total of 16 firearms and over 6,000 rounds of ammunition were found.

“Since Hurricane Dorian, over 400 officers were deployed to Abaco on rotation between Abaco and New Providence, and we were stretched. We had to move persons in the actual storm out of Abaco while rotating persons on a weekly basis and taking persons out daily by air and sea.

“The island has been manned by officers in New Providence on a monthly rotation. This, of course, changed the entire landscape of what we thought was a well-planned strategy for 2019,” Commissioner Ferguson said.

Prior to the storm, he noted that there were 49 officers stationed in Abaco, and today there are now 75.

He noted: “While attention was focused on Abaco and the surrounding cays, a handful of criminals wreaked havoc in New Providence. In September and October, we experienced in September and October, 13 murders in New Providence and two in Grand Bahama.”

The police force in Grand Bahama was also severely impacted by Dorian, having lost its entire fleet of 60-plus vehicles to flooding.