Months after he oversaw a cleanup effort after a thief or thieves ransacked the offices of St. Agnes Anglican Church on Blue Hill Road, Archdeacon I. Ranfurly Brown on Friday became the victim of crime in a much more personal way, when his Blue Hill Heights home was broken into and emptied of valuable items while his teenage son slept.
"They took everything," Father Brown told The Nassau Guardian yesterday.  He said the break-in happened between 11 a.m. and 12 p.m. Brown said the intruders entered through a window and took items like jewelry and electronics.
But he was grateful his son was unharmed, even though the thieves took his computer out his room as he slept.
"We have to get these politicians to be more honest about the reality of the intensity of this criminal attitude and element in this country," said Father Brown when asked how he felt about the general crime problem, "not to talk about the high profile crimes only, but the crimes that are affecting the poor man, the middle man, the man who is struggling to provide for his family and somebody could just come in and take everything."
But Brown indicated that he was determined to put this latest robbery in perspective.
"I went in the house, saw what happened, smiled and walked out," he said.
"It's only material things."
He said, however, "It was a disappointment because we are not dealing with the crime situation in this country, especially when you hear people are brought before the courts by the hard working police and given bail.
"That is disheartening to the whole Bahamian society and you have politicians playing around on these platforms...  We need to change the society to a more honest society, be concerned about building lives and communities."
Last June, the offices of St. Agnes Anglican Church were ransacked and a safe with important documents and money were stolen. The thieves entered through a northern window of the building on Blue Hill Road by breaking the panes and cutting the iron security bars, Brown said at the time.
He also said back then, "The crime situation tells us that we need to focus on people and not things, and see how best we can reform people and cause things to happen for the good of our people.  The more we talk, the worse it gets.
"Leaders have to listen and then come up with the right solutions as to how best you can deal with people."

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