Minister of National Security the Hon. Dr. Bernard Nottage announced that the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) has approved a $20 million loan to help The Bahamas Government in organising various programmes and strategies to fight crime in the country.

The National Security Minister made the announcement during the 9th Conference of the Association of Caribbean Heads of Corrections at the British Colonial Hilton, Wednesday, July 8.

According to the Minister, the initiative will have four components.

The first component seeks to improve behaviours for non-violent conflict resolution in New Providence by applying differentiated evidence-based interventions to address social norms that promote the acceptance of violence.

The second component aims to help at risk youths find jobs through training and employability programmes.

Minister Nottage explained that a study completed by the IDB revealed the difficulties that some Bahamian young people have getting jobs due to lack of skills and also to some extent because of attitudes that must be overcome. As a result, some of these young people turn to a life of crime. “So we are identifying at-risk youths seeking to help them complete their education because many of our young men, in particular, do not complete their basic secondary school education,” he said.

“Many of them leave school after the ninth or tenth grade due to the lack of interest in school and because of other attractions, many of which lead to criminal activity. So it is our hope that through providing training, this could make a dent in that problem.”

Minister Nottage explained that the Government itself has also allocated over $20 million in the 2015/2016 fiscal year for training programmes that will provide skills acquisition and help the youth complete basic education.

The third component seeks to strengthen the justice administration system to better prosecute and sentence crimes by including, among other elements, an integrated electronic system for case management and the introduction of innovative dispute resolution mechanisms.

The fourth component seeks to better help reintegrate offenders into society through activities such as the design and implementation of a comprehensive rehabilitation model and a curriculum built on evidence-based practices.

Minister Nottage said there are 1,500 men and 50 women incarcerated in The Bahamas, and half of those behind bars have not been found guilty of any crime although they have been charged and are awaiting trial. “We have decided as a government that is not a tolerable situation, it is not a desirable one, and we should seek to overcome it.”

He explained that the IDB has decided to help the Government with a parole system, which will provide the ability to release many of those who are in prison earlier, but in a manner in which they would be adequately monitored. He noted that it is expensive to keep persons in the prison system. “It would be far better if we could equip those people to be able to return to society, lead a crime free life and look after themselves and their families.”