In May, 21 people were murdered, most of them shot or stabbed. It was the highest number of murders reported in any given month for the year. Up to Friday, the murder count stood at 110, according to police. A 76-year-old woman and a five-year-old boy were among the victims. Earlier this month, Prime Minister Perry Christie deplored the high level of crime. He said there are too many "irrational killings" in the country.
Attempted murders were up 125 percent nationwide between January 1 and November 8, 2012 compared to the same period last year, according to the latest crime statistics released by police. During the election campaign, crime was one of the key issues, with the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) accusing the Ingraham administration of failing to keep Bahamians safe. Upon coming to office, the new administration re-launched its Urban Renewal crime-fighting initiative. New National Security Minister Dr. Bernard Nottage vowed to drive down the murder rate by year's end.
In October, head of the Central Detective Unit Superintendent Paul Rolle said the incarceration of several gang leaders resulted in a slowdown in murders. The number of murders decreased for the first 11 months of this year compared to 2011, which ended with a record 127 murders. Detectives closed just under 80 percent of the murder cases up to mid-December, Police Commissioner Ellison Greenslade said. "Despite how good our detection rate is, I don't get excited about that," Greenslade said.
"We need to look at the prevention side of the house. We don't want these things to happen in the first place." Murders were not the only crimes that remained a major concern this year. According to police, armed robberies jumped 18 percent during the first 11 months of the year. Nine hundred and fifty-one cases were reported up to that point compared to 804 last year. Prime Minister Christie promised an increase in saturation patrols in New Providence in response to these crimes.
"We articulated a policy called saturation patrols and very simply put, if you're walking on the streets at some stage as we expand the fleet of police cars, you turn left or right or look ahead of you, you'll see a police [officer] or sense that they are present," Christie said. According to the latest statistics released by police, overall crime fell by six percent, but crimes against the person rose five percent. Police reported that crimes against property fell eight percent.
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