WITH movement restrictions and curfews in place for most of the year in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, National Security Minister Marvin Dames expects a “double digit” drop in major crime when 2020 statistics are revealed.

Mr Dames said yesterday, “I get briefs (from police officials) weekly during our weekly meetings just to make certain that we’re trending in the right direction, but I can tell you that for the past three years we’ve been looking at our bar charts and graphs and everything else and the numbers in just about every category over the last three years have been dropping.

“Crimes against property and crimes against the persons... very encouraged that these are numbers that we haven’t seen in this country... maybe close to 15 years.

“And so if the police and the Defence Force – especially if they continue their (hard work)… through December… we can expect at the end of this year to see some amazing drops in major crime categories and that’s what we want to see. That’s what Bahamians want to see.”

For the second year in a row, there were fewer than 100 homicides in 2019.

Homicides this year are well below this figure, likely due to the strict curfews, lockdowns and partial lockdowns that have been in place since March.

“If everything continues to hold you’ll see drops in the double-digit,” Mr Dames said when asked about murder numbers. “Double-digit drops….Where the police may be somewhere in the area of about, what, 61 now. Last year this time, there were probably closer to 90.

“When you look at armed robberies too – down significantly... double digits again. You can expect to see that.”

Despite positive strides, he said, officials want “to see that fear index drop”.

“We still have some work to do. We understand that because you know what we’re experiencing did not happen overnight, but I would say over the last three years or since coming into office we promised the Bahamian people that we will reduce crime and looking at all the figures everything seems continuing to trend down, downward.”