By Annelia Nixon

Tribune Business Reporter

anixon@tribunemedia.net

The Bahamas Chamber of Commerce & Employers’ Confederation is concerned with the rise of crime and its impact on businesses, especially following an IDB report stating the country’s GDP experienced a loss of $100m with 40 percent of that owed to crime.

The chamber also cited a recent robbery on Sunday, saying: “The Bahamas Chamber of Commerce & Employers’ Confederation has noted the increased scourge of crime befallen the business community, with the latest four-man armed robbery on Sunday, leaving the owner and employees shaken. We renew our call for the government to increase police presence, especially with the onset of the busy holiday season to keep residents, tourists, business establishments and patrons safe.

“This brazen robbery only solidifies the IDB’s report which highlights the impact of crime on the GDP, noting that 40 percent of the $100m loss was directly attributable to businesses spending on security to combat the effects of crime. Moreover, it validates the BCCEC’s continuous call for the increased ease and decreased cost of doing business in The Bahamas as our members already have to contend with several competing factors that erodes their bottom-line and a myriad of challenges including crime. These added costs are passed onto the consumer and undoubtedly fuels the inflation and economic fallout we are experiencing today.

The BCCEC said it’s their hope that “the introduction of new police officers earlier this month” can be stationed “in crime-ridden, high-traffic areas or used to relieve officers in other departments that can now be shifted to the front line given their experience and expertise”.

“As before, the BCCEC again welcomes the opportunity to collaborate with the government by providing business mapping for heavily saturated areas and filtering the direct concerns from our members/the business community relative to lighting, patrols, vagrants, blind spots and other aspects that can impede the safety of the shopping public. We will not rest until this matter is addressed with the urgency it requires.”

Suggestions for the business community provided by the BCCEC include only having a minimal amount of cash on your business’ premises during work hours, securing money in a safe or lock box instead if in a register “in the sight of customers.” They also recommended “monitored controlled access” and a height marker to a business’ entrance door as well as “a measure of forceful difficulty to enter/exit” They recommend vigilance and a well lit area especially “if you are opened beyond dusk and always open/close with an accompanying member to avoid being caught alone in extenuating circumstances.” They also proposed that businesses “invest in contents insurance, a security guard, camera and alarm system as soon as fiscally possible.”