By CELESTE NIXON

Tribune Staff Reporter

cnixon@tribunemedia.net

WITH the murder count up to 85 and a recent string of home robberies, Prime Minister Perry Christie said the effort to combat crime must be redoubled.

While high crime continues to be a reality in the Bahamas, the government is taking steps to fulfil the promises laid out in its Charter for Governance, Mr Christie said, speaking to the media outside Cabinet yesterday.

He said: “It is a work in progress, we are dismayed any time there is a murder but it just means we must redouble our efforts because these people must not be allowed to be the dominant factor in our country, at all cost we must move them out and stop them.

“It is something we have to deal with, it is one of the realities in our country; we have to be heartened by the fact that we have had some successes and we just have to keep on working at this and keep pressing our people.”

In less than a week six people have been murdered. The latest victim, a 29 year-old Carmichael Road resident who was shot on Monday night while playing a game dominoes on Meadow Street off Hospital Lane.

Mr Christie said the government is in the process of initiating new programmes including a National Intelligence Agency comprised of representatives from all branches of law enforcement.

“This new entity coming into being and is now in progress,” he said. “I am confident that we are going to be able to find these people who sell and bring in guns and we will deal with them effectively.”

Speaking just after the election, Minister of National Security Dr Bernard Nottage said the National Intelligence Agency will help the government maximise its use of resources in the fight against crime, particularly international drug trafficking.

He said: “The criminal elements have proven to be very resilient and creative in finding alternative ways to continue their illegal activities. As a result, law enforcement agencies must remain ahead of the curve in finding measures to destroy the repulsive activities of drug dealers.

“This can only be done by us working together collectively as partners, both nationally and as a region.”

During his contribution to the 2012/13 Budget Debate on June 13, Mr Christie pledged to purchase at least 70 new vehicles for use by the police force over the next 18 months, to “show their presence over the breadth and depth of the streets in all areas.”

He said in the last week , more than 20 vehicles have been delivered to the Royal Bahamas Police Force to boost police presence on the streets and facilitate quicker response times.

“We have to continue to make adjustments, we have 20 plus cars arriving in the last two or three days to be integrated into the police. I promised over 70 cars over a period of 18 months, I am trying to shorten that period because we want to ensure that we have the streets totally covered by both marked and unmarked cars,” said Mr Christie.