By KHRISNA VIRGIL

Tribune Staff Reporter

kvirgil@tribunemedia.net

NEARLY three weeks after the National Security Council met to discuss new crime fighting initiatives, Royal Bahamas Police Force executives and the government are still in a “state of reassessment” over crime, said Bain and Grants Town MP Dr Bernard Nottage.

Dr Nottage, the national security minister, yesterday further admitted to reporters that he was concerned about the general feeling by Bahamians that they were not safe because of rates of violent crime.

Dr Nottage declined to reveal the new crime fighting initiatives saying it was still the government’s position not to enlighten criminals on the measures that were proposed.

This comes following a week plagued with crime that saw three murders in a 12-hour period. The killings pushed the country’s murder count to 106. There was also a high-speed car chase that resulted in a shoot-out involving the police and two teenage suspected armed robbers on Tuesday night.

“I am concerned about the public’s perception that they may not be safe,” Dr Nottage told reporters during the House of Assembly’s morning recess.

“I am in constant dialogue with the police as they are seeking to overcome the challenges which are caused by the violent crimes in our communities.

“I was in a meeting this morning (Wednesday) with members of the executive team, the Commissioner (of Police Ellison Greenslade) specifically. We have discussed the matter and are in a state of reassessment. The police are working extremely hard and they are doing some very good work. I am satisfied that our discussions would perhaps provide other strategies that we could engage in our fight against a very serious problem.”

On October 30, Dr Nottage told reporters there was no room for vigilante justice as he announced new crime fighting strategies.

He said the National Security Council, chaired by Prime Minister Perry Christie, agreed to new initiatives aimed at curbing the spike in certain types of criminal activity, but officials remained tight-lipped over the details of these plans.

At the time Dr Nottage said: “It would be foolhardy in the extreme to disclose details of these new measures as to do so would be tipping the hand of law enforcement to the very persons we are determined to catch and put behind bars.

“We are confident, however, that these new measures will achieve satisfying results within a very short period of time and that the perpetrators of violent crime will be brought to justice and made to feel the full weight of the law.”

Dr Nottage told reporters yesterday that he expected to, in the next few days, give a very full account on the crime situation.