keith bell hopes murder count will be 40 by 2016

By KYLE WALKINE

Tribune Staff Reporter

kwalkine@tribunemedia.net

STATE Minister of National Security Keith Bell said while he wishes the Bahamas will one day see a year of no murders recorded, he hopes the count will be no higher than 40 by 2016. 

Mr Bell told The Tribune yesterday the government will “absolutely” see to it that the murder count decreases, adding that they have set policies and provided resources to ensure that there is a “drastic decrease” in the homicide rate before this term in office is over. 

“I would like to see it drop to zero,” Mr Bell told The Tribune.

“Realistically, that will not happen. But I could recall that given our demographics and the other factors that come into the picture, we are a major transshipment point for drugs, guns and illegal immigrants. We have a major poaching issue. We have all of these subcultures in our country. But we should not average more than 40 homicides a year. I would like to see us get back to the state of where we have 40 by 2016. But even that is too much.”

According to Police Commissioner Ellison Greenslade there were 111 murders in 2013, eight less than 2012. 

Crime statistics recently released by the Ministry of National Security show that the murder rate from January 1 to June 10 increased by nine per cent from last year. 

However, the statistics show that, during the specified time period, most other major crimes are down compared to last year.

During the 2012 campaign season, the then opposition Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) posted billboards highlighting the 400 plus murders which occurred under the Ingraham administration. 

Since coming to office, the Christie administration has received criticism for making crime a political issue.

However Mr Bell said the difference between the way the Free National Movement (FNM) fought crime and the way the government does is through the application and identification of resources.

“There were about 468 homicides under the FNM administration between 2007 and 2012,” he said.

“They had a system that was broken, where in the Office of the Attorney General they cancelled the Swift Justice initiative. This made it difficult to track which cases should be tried in a timely manner. These fellas who killed three or four people, you could not track that. If you’re not tracking that, how do you know where to deploy your resources?

“If you look at when the FNM came to power in 2007, they brought 120 vehicles for the police to patrol in which were completely unsuitable for patrol. They were family vehicles. We came in and bought the Ford Taurus interceptors, which are specially designed for mobile patrol for the police. So it means that you get more mileage and better efficiency.”

Mr Bell said there is definitely a connection between a government’s effort in crime fighting and the amount of serious crimes that happen in the country. 

He added that the biggest challenge for the Royal Bahamas Police Force (RBPF) is the fact that there is no DNA lab. 

“The government is now in the process of drawing a conceptual plan for a lab,” the minister said. “Every murder, sexual offence or armed robbery case requires work to be done in the DNA lab. Juries rarely convict if you don’t have DNA evidence. Our evidence now has to be packaged and sent to the DNBA lab in the US. So our priorities aren’t necessarily theirs. So now, we have dates set for trial but the cases can’t be heard because you don’t have the DNA evidence.”

The minister noted that for the past 10 years, murder declined during the summer months.

Comments

John says...

Government and the police have statistics that confirm that the increase in murder is directly related to the granting of bail to persons charged with murder. Some 70 percent of the murders committed in any one year are committed out by persons on bail for murder or they (persons on bail for murder) are themselves victims of a killer. Additional courts to aid in swift justice that were promised in January this year are yet to become operational. If the stats are true then government can reduce the murder rate by at least SEVENTY PERCENT, by preventing persons charged with murder from getting bail and bringing them to swift justice. It is not impossible to bring the number of murders to under 40 in two years if the judicial system, more specifically the courts, starts to function more efficiently. *Did I just agree with Da Bell?*

Posted 25 June 2014, 10:25 a.m. Suggest removal

Purcell says...

This reminds me of Black Adder when he says Sir Whoever brutally cut his head off while shaving. I guess there will be only 40 murders but suicides and accidents will skyrocket in the Bahamas. Government propaganda in its purest form.

Posted 25 June 2014, 11:08 a.m. Suggest removal

URD says...

Is this for real!

Tinker Bell has to be joking.....geeze!

Posted 25 June 2014, 11:41 a.m. Suggest removal

proudloudandfnm says...

Hopes?!?!?!?

Someone PLEASE give this tree stump a job description....

Posted 25 June 2014, 12:29 p.m. Suggest removal

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