According to the recently-released Royal Bahamas Police Force (RBPF) Crime Statistics 2017 report, overall instances of reported crime in The Bahamas were down by 14 percent compared to 2016, with a 50 per cent decrease in attempted murders and a 27 per cent decrease in rapes and attempted rapes, respectively.

Nationally, robberies were down by 34 per cent, with 115 instances reported in 2017 and 175 in 2016. Armed robberies were also down by 27 per cent, with 575 reported in 2017 and 783 in 2016. Stolen vehicles saw a decrease of 31 per cent, with 462 reported in 2017, compared to 669 in 2016.

Of the areas of note that saw an increase nationally, murders were up by 10 per cent, with 122 instances reported in 2017, compared to 111 in the previous year; and attempted robberies saw a seven percent increase in 2017, from 15 to 16 reported cases.

On New Providence, there was an increase of 17 per cent in reported murders, increasing from 89 to 104 reported cases; and a 23 per cent increase in reported unlawful sexual intercourse instances, increasing from 87 to 107 reported cases. However, attempted murder was down by 45 per cent and rape by 37 per cent, during the same time frame.

On Grand Bahama, the major crimes of murder and rape were down 39 per cent and 38 per cent, respectively. Additionally, in the Family Islands, there was a 75 per cent increase in reported cases of murder, increasing from four to seven cases; and an 83 per cent increase in reported rape cases, from six to 11, during the same period. However, there were no reported cases of attempted murder, manslaughter or attempted rape in the Family Islands in 2017.