Former Minister of National Security Tommy Turnquest said yesterday he found it "amazing" that Deputy Prime Minister Philip Brave Davis would say that no one in the country is safe from crime after his aide was shot on Monday.
Turnquest said this is the same Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) that blamed him every time a crime happened. "This is the same person who put up all those billboards," Turnquest said when contacted by The Nassau Guardian.
"Isn't that amazing? "Maybe they will realize what the root of the problems are and fix them.
"When the people were killing each other, they blamed me. But my season is over. You know what keeps me motivated?
"Today I went to pick up my car from the mechanic and someone asked me, 'isn't it sad that they used to blame you?' "The same standard by which I was judged, judge them."
One of the DPM's aides, Sergeant Andrew Sweeting, was shot on Monday and remained hospitalized yesterday. Davis told reporters on Tuesday, "[Crime] is still unacceptably high and what it tells us is that none of us are safe from what is going on in our country today and it means that all of us must come together again to make a concerted effort to stop this scourge of crime."
In the lead up to the May 2012 general election, the PLP placed billboards about the record number of murders under the Ingraham administration at various roundabouts on New Providence, including in tourist areas. The billboards read, "Under the FNM government 490 plus murders".
When some of the billboards were taken down on the instruction of the Ministry of the Environment, Davis accused the then government of "strong arm tactics".
"We cannot hide the truth," Davis said back in April 2012.
"Are we about hiding the truth? Are we going to be concerned about the impression that the truth gives?
"The only way we can get rid of these things is to address the issue. The fact is that there were more than 490 murders in this country (since 2007). We can not run away from that."
In a letter to the editor of The Nassau Guardian dated August 29, 2011, Davis wrote that Turnquest should have been replaced because of the rising murder count.
"That's why it is imperative in the upcoming general election that the Bahamian people replace the failed FNM government with a Progressive Liberal Party government that will have the know-how, the commitment, the political will and determination to restore respect for law and order in this country," he wrote.
The government continues to say that overall crime is down, but has admitted the level of violent crime remains too high. Fifty-seven murders have been recorded so far in 2013.
Minister of National Security Dr. Bernard Nottage recently released statistics that show that crime throughout The Bahamas decreased by 10 percent between January 1 and June 11, 2013.
However, some categories, including armed robbery and sexual offenses, recorded a jump. Not all crimes are included as part of the statistics officials release from time to time.
Of the categories included, 5,238 crimes were reported up to June 11 last year, compared to 4,703 during the same period this year.
Crimes against the person increased by two percent while crimes against the property decreased by 13 percent.
Click here to read more at The Nassau Guardian
