By ERIC ROSE

Bahamas Information Services

MINISTER of National Security Marvin Dames recently said that over the past decade, escalating crime and violence numbers have presented challenges to the economic and social development of The Bahamas.

"Much of the violence and crime that we are seeing is motivated by individuals and their inability to resolve conflicts peacefully and with civility," Mr Dames said at a recent meeting of the Rotary Club of East Nassau at the Nassau Yacht Club.

"If we are going to restore law and order and build public safety within our society, we must bring focus to the causal factors which contribute to crime and violent behaviour," he added. "At the core of the matter, we must first address how we deal with daily conflicts on our streets, in our homes, at our schools and in our social environments."

In The Bahamas, Mr Dames said, homicide victims are predominantly males, and, in fact, over the past five years, males accounted for a disproportionate number of homicide victims.

"Gang violence mainly perpetrated by males, presents several challenges for law enforcement and public safety," he said.

Mr Dames noted that, according to a local murder study in "Solutions to the Murder Problem" (Hanna, 2017), 31 per cent of murder victims and 42 per cent of murder suspects were active gang members and involved in gang activity.

"The study also suggests that gangs are often formed due to system failures or community dysfunctions and that many of the revenge and/or retaliation murders are by-products of ongoing feuds among gang rivals," he said.

While the primary victims of homicide are young men, Mr Dames said, violence against women and children is also a concern. A National Anti-Drug Secretariat study on murder for the period, 2010 - 2015 revealed that 10 per cent or 75 of the murders committed, were a result of domestic violence and involved violence between intimate partners, siblings and parent-child relations, he pointed out.

"Domestic violence also includes physical, physiological, and emotional abuse between intimate partners, parents and children, siblings and/or family members," Mr Dames said. "Further, several studies conducted between 2009 and 2010 suggested that domestic violence in some form occurred in 62 per cent of the homes in The Bahamas."

Mr Dames said that an examination of the motives behind murders in 2017 suggested that perpetrators were gang members, and that violence existed in their homes. He added that a study found that, of those charged with the offence of murder, 97 per cent were male; 82 per cent ranged in ages from 18-35 years of age; 58 per cent had prior criminal records; and 42 per cent were involved in gangs. Earlier studies also revealed that 71 per cent of murder suspects were unemployed, he noted.

"These statistics, particularly the loss of human life suggests that peace and conflict resolution are real challenges facing our country today," Mr Dames said. "I readily acknowledge that there is no 'quick-fix' to the complex issue of crime, as many issues we face today are the manifestation of many years of inattention, abdication of responsibility and neglect.

"It would be naive to assume that this very complex predicament of criminality can be rectified overnight."