Investigation into The Root Causes of Crime in The Bahamas is Urgently Needed

The Bahamas Government Can Best Prevent and Address Crime by First Setting Good Examples

Pursuing Sustainable Solutions to Combat Crime and Hostility in The Bahamas with a Collective Approach

By Dr Kevin Alcena

Nassau, The Bahamas

The Bahamas is grappling with significant challenges related to crime and violence, impacting communities and hindering progress within society. While legislation plays a crucial role, addressing these complex issues demands a comprehensive strategy that includes various sectors of society.

This article explores the key aspects of a collective strategy to curb crime and violence in the Bahamas, emphasizing the empowerment of communities, the establishment of a compulsory national service, the enhancement of education, the application of scientific approaches, and economic reforms.

Community Empowerment

Central to the reduction of crime and hostility in The Bahamas are initiatives that focus on the community, offering education, vocational training, and social support to at-risk youth. Such programs can divert these individuals from criminal activities by providing opportunities for positive involvement.

Furthermore, cultivating a relationship of trust and cooperation between law enforcement officials and community members via community policing can significantly decrease crime. This method promotes dialogue and partnership within communities.

National Service

Implementing a compulsory national service program stands as a crucial element in reducing violence and criminal actions. Involving youth in structured tasks such as environmental conservation or improving public amenities can foster a sense of responsibility, self-control, and collaboration. These activities not only equip them with skills valuable for employment but also open up educational opportunities, presenting a constructive alternative to criminal behaviors.

Education and Literacy

Ensuring access to quality education and literacy is vital to breaking the cycle of poverty and curtailing involvement in criminal activities. By launching literacy campaigns across the nation, The Bahamas can enable its citizens to pursue better employment opportunities, make informed decisions, and contribute to societal development. An increase in literacy rates can elevate economic conditions, reducing the desperation that can lead individuals to engage in crimes.

Scientific Initiatives

Investing in scientific research focused on crime prevention and social improvement can reveal important insights and innovative strategies. Utilizing evidence-based approaches is key in identifying the fundamental causes of crime and violence, leading to the development of effective deterrents and interventions. Collaboration among government agencies, academic institutions, and community organizations is necessary for creating tailored solutions that cater to the specific needs of Bahamian communities.

Economic Reform

Gaining a comprehensive understanding of both formal and informal economic sectors is essential for effective governance and crime reduction in The Bahamas. Meticulously recording economic activities, including those in the informal sector, enables authorities to monitor business practices and directly address illegal operations. Integrating informal sectors into the formal economy provides them with access to resources, legal protection, and growth opportunities, thereby reducing the allure of criminal endeavors.

In efforts to decrease crime and violence, The Bahamas must adopt a strategy that addresses social, economic, and administrative challenges. Strengthening communities, engaging citizens in national service, enhancing education and literacy, allocating resources to scientific research, and pursuing economic reforms can create an environment conducive to security, prosperity, and the well-being of all citizens.

The dedication of government officials, social organizations, and the business community is imperative for the successful deployment and lasting effectiveness of these measures. Through persistent efforts and a commitment to change, The Bahamas can establish a foundation for a future free from the scourge of crime and violence.

The Infestation of Crime in The Bahamas

Crime emerges from our lifestyles and the deliberate or inadvertent efforts by family members, friends, and acquaintances to hide criminal activities. Crime is a manifestation bred inadvertently by society’s actions.

According to the French nobleman Marquis de Sade (1740-1814), “Crime embodies lust. What would pleasure be without the thrill of crime? It’s not the debauchery itself that excites us, but the notion of committing evil.”

Former US FBI Director John Edgar Hoover (1895-1972) emphasized that within the upbringing and education of family members, it is crucial to “impart truthfulness to the children.”

CRIME: A SOCIOLOGICAL PHENOMENON

The term “CRIME” originates from the Latin word “CRIMEN” and is defined in BLACKSTONE'S CRIMINAL LAW BOOK as “the act of committing an illegal activity.”

The first recorded crime, a homicide or murder, was committed by Cain against his brother, Abel. Historically, crimes were considered sins. Hence, crime has existed since the sin of Adam and Eve and will persist till the end of days.

“Sociological” is derived from the French word “Societe” and the Latin “Socius,” meaning “Society.” The term “Phenomenon” comes from the Latin “PHENOMENON,” referring to “any observable fact that can be scientifically described” by humans.

Thus, when it is said that “crime is a sociological phenomenon,” it means that crimes are acts committed by individuals based on environmental or societal influences through the senses. Crimes are perpetrated through the senses of touch, sight, hearing, taste, and smell. By touching and feeling, one can commit the crime of homicide, through sight and hearing, the crime of pornography, and through taste and smell, the crime against consuming drugs in all their varieties.

A super predator, essentially a psychopath, can commit heinous acts like murder and rape without remorse, believed to be due to the absence of a functioning conscience.

Most crimes, such as murders, rapes, robberies, and other violent offenses, are committed through the senses of touch and feeling. Crimes are classified as blue-collar, committed mostly by the impoverished, and white-collar, committed by those more affluent.

The notion that charity begins at home extends to evil as well.

It follows that parents, with rare exceptions, are not to blame for their offspring's crimes, just as political parties, politicians, or police are NOT responsible for citizens’ crimes. Nevertheless, the governing party, whether PLP or FNM, alongside the Police Commissioner, has a sworn duty to prevent, reduce, and solve crimes. The Attorney-General commits to prosecute all crimes committed by anyone, “without fear or favour.”

The ruling government can best prevent and address crime by setting a good example, establishing proper infrastructure like more entertainment and sports facilities, and promoting friendly relations between the police and the populace.

Additionally, everyday citizens have a responsibility to look after one another and follow the golden rule.

The perspective above is merely a starting point. Further investigation into the root causes of crime is urgently needed.

Not every perpetrator is apprehended. Many cleanly-dressed criminals, in suits or uniforms with polished shoes, walk among us in The Bahamas. The French Philosopher Voltaire noted, "If every man had to display his crimes on his forehead, he would wear his hat over his eyes."

Focus must be on: (A) The Resolution of Crime, and(B) The Rehabilitation of The Offender.

A systematic cultural shift in addressing crime, including the restructuring of the Royal Bahamas Defense Force and establishing a commission to tackle corruption levels, is necessary for the Bahamian people.

This would inevitably foster a culture of respect within society. The government maintains zero tolerance towards corruption.

The Resolution of Crime

Two methods for resolving crime include: The Preventive Approach, and The Practical Common Sense Approach.

The Preventive Approach

The Book of Proverbs in The Holy Bible advises parents to guide their children in righteous ways, promising they will adhere to these teachings lifelong. In essence, instructing children to follow Biblical teachings, such as the ten commandments, love for God and neighbor, the golden rule, and manners.

Source

Bahamas Independence... ...40 (forty) years later very many of our Bahamian youth are lost in a haze of Jamaican-grown ganja

Forty Years Later

The Bahama Journal Editorial



We shall – in short order – celebrate this fledgling nation’s fortieth Independence anniversary.


And so, we are today conveniently urged to remember that this nation of ours did some four decades ago have leaders who did dream that this nation of ours would or could be under-girded by a fervent desire for the building of a Bahamas where unity is indivisible – “…a Creation under God of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas…”

Sadly, there now seems a decided drifting away on the part of an untold many from these principles.

In their stead, very many Bahamians in now seem hell-bent on violating the spirit that once animated some of our founding fathers and mothers.

As we revert to the Constitution, we are told that, “Whereas Four hundred and eighty-one years ago the rediscovery of this Family of Islands, Rocks and Cays heralded the rebirth of the New World;

“And Whereas the People of this Family of Islands recognizing that the preservation of their Freedom will be guaranteed by a national commitment to Self-discipline, Industry, Loyalty, Unity and an abiding respect for Christian values and the Rule of Law;

“Now Know Ye Therefore: We the Inheritors of and Successors to this Family of Islands, recognizing the Supremacy of God and believing in the Fundamental Rights and Freedoms of the Individual, Do Hereby Proclaim In Solemn Praise the Establishment of a Free and Democratic Sovereign Nation founded on Spiritual Values and in which no Man, Woman or Child shall ever be Slave or Bondsman to anyone or their Labour exploited or their Lives frustrated by deprivation, And Do Hereby Provide by these Articles for the indivisible Unity and Creation under God of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas…”

Would to God were more of our people sufficiently dedicated to nation-building that they would take these words to heart.

But even as we hope, we find ourselves becalmed in a mire of despond.

And as we interrogate the matter at hand, we are slowly but surely coming to the conclusion that some of the distress and [indeed] some of the drift we note now seem rooted in certain demographic trends now surfacing with a vengeance.

Evidently, one of the more interesting facts of life in today’s supposedly ‘modern’ Bahamas turns on the extent to which so very many strangers have made this urban-centered country their home.

Here we refer to that motley mix of Haitians, Jamaicans, Englishmen, Germans, and Americans and [of course] that crowd of Nigerians who work and live in The Bahamas.

These people are making a difference that promises to transform how we regard ourselves and how people around us see themselves as they become safely and deeply-rooted in this new land.

And so today we would suggest that there is probably only a clever few among this nation’s elite who would consider truly genuine some of the troubles very many so-called grass-roots Bahamians have with that motley crew of strangers who settle and work [sometimes illegally] in this country.

While some of these troubles are deeply rooted in the kind of mindless fear many people routinely have of strangers; the fact remains that most of the conflict between these people is grounded in an economy and social order that now seems to discriminate against Bahamians and [on occasion] in favor of these strangers.

This matter is compounded in another very interesting way.

This time around the matter at hand concerns the extent to which very many of those people who work and make their living here are – on occasion – contemptuous of the ways, values, mores and laws under-girding Bahamian civilization.

Indeed, they give every impression that they are only here because they can make an easy dollar, laugh at their unemployed Bahamian counterpart and otherwise enrich themselves and their families ‘back-home’.

Simply put, some Bahamians now understand that they are being taken for a ride; thus intermittent conflicts between Bahamians and any number of these strangers.

On occasion, there is also evidence of a kind of love-hate dynamic between some of these people as in the case of how some grass-roots Bahamians relate to their Haitian and Jamaican peers.

Of note is the fact that some Bahamians are now the direct result of this fervent re-mix that is now transforming Bahamian pedigree.

As a consequence some of our youth have taken to a hot embrace of Jamaican-born Rastafarianism.

In addition, many of them have also taken to ganja as if it was some royal road to bliss, wisdom and understanding; thus some of the troubles our youth routinely have with the authorities.

In conclusion then, this Bahamian reception of Rastafarianism also brings with it a profound anti-establishment ethic; thus leading to a sad, sad conclusion – forty years later very many of our youth are lost in a haze of Jamaican-grown ganja.

September 24, 2012   Jones Bahamas  

Caribbean Blog International

...whatever they called him during his 15 years as prime minister ...Hubert Ingraham did much for this country - The Bahamas ...and for all Bahamians... ...He should be a true inspiration to Bahamian youth who now know that regardless of their backgrounds ...they can also aspire to great heights

A Tribute To Hubert Alexander Ingraham

Tribune 242 Editorial




IF from a log cabin in the backwoods of Kentucky the sixteenth president of the United States could step forth, there was no reason why 203 years later Cooper’s Town, Abaco, could not produce from similar circumstances the second prime minister of the Bahamas.

 

The two men had much in common. “I walk slowly,” said Abraham Lincoln, “but I never walk backwards.”

 

Hubert Alexander Ingraham, born in Pine Ridge Grand Bahama, in 1947, could have said the same.

 

Both men had much in common. Lincoln’s parents were illiterate. His mother died when he was nine, and his stepmother took him under her wing and encouraged him to read. Reading material was scarce and Lincoln walked for miles just to borrow a book.

 

Hubert Ingraham, was left with his grandparents in Abaco when he was a toddler, while his mother found work in Nassau. He grew up in a four-room wooden house with his grandparents and an uncle, and slept on a pallet on the floor with his two cousins. He got his first pair of shoes when he was 10 and didn’t learn how to use a knife and fork until he was 17. His grandfather taught him how to fish, his grandmother insisted on education — and every bit of learning he could get he got at the sleepy little town’s all-age school, where he became a monitor at 12 and a pupil teacher at 14.

 

When at 17 she felt he was ready to go to town to further his education, he wanted to become a teacher, she determined that he was to be a lawyer and a lawyer he became. Lincoln, who with his backwoods accent, made his living by manual labour and – like Hubert Ingraham – had to acquire social skills as he went along, also became a lawyer.

 

His grandmother instilled in him his courage and determination, she crafted his principles, taught him to raise his gaze above the horizon — believing that if he aimed for the stars, he might reach the tree tops. He did not let “Mama Lizzie” down. He was her boy and between his love and respect for her and his mother “Dama” he was determined to raise the lot of women in our society.

 

The UBP gave women the vote in 1962. When in 1992 Hubert Ingraham went to the polls to remove his mentor, Sir Lynden Pindling, from the seat of power, women started to come into their own.

 

During his administration, Mrs Janet Bostwick, a former minister in his government, states in an article in a special supplement in today’s Tribune:

 

“And, he is an FNM hero because he brought women front and centre in each government which he led, paying attention to all the issues that concern Bahamian women most especially health, education, social development and equality before the law.”

 

He placed women to head important ministries in his government — Attorney General, Health, Education, Foreign Affairs, Social Development, Transport, Public Service, and Immigration. During his administration Dame Ivy Dumont became the first woman Governor General, and Dame Joan Sawyer, was the first woman Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.

 

He believed deeply in democracy — and for democracy to be equally enjoyed by all Bahamians. He was criticised by his own party for his refusal to discriminate against Bahamians who were not FNM. There are still those in his party who do not understand that all the spoils should not go to the victor. At least Hubert Alexander Ingraham did not believe in the victor walking away with everything — nor did old Abe Lincoln.

 

He also believed in freedom of speech. And one of the first things that he did on becoming prime minister of the Bahamas was to open the airwaves to the private sector. The Tribune was given the first private radio licence for 100 JAMZ. Since then there have been many private radio licences and many talk shows, where Bahamians can express their opinions, no matter how wise or foolish.

 

No longer do Bahamians, like Fred Mitchell, have to fly to Miami to buy air time to get their views across to the Bahamian public. Today they have many outlets right here at home and they certainly use them.

 

Mr Ingraham has been the brunt of much of their criticism — but this is the price of free speech. We are certain that he does not like it. We are also certain that untruths make him squirm — in fact send him into a boiling temper — but we are also certain that he would never be vindictive, or retaliate by denying work permits to newspapers. He would probably agree with Winston Churchill who said: “I am always in favour of the free press but sometimes they say quite nasty things.” As for Abe Lincoln, he felt it important “to let the people know the facts, and the country will be safe.”

 

They laughed at his accent, they called him the “Delivery Boy,” his nickname was Hughbiggity – Sir Lynden dismissed him as a one-term prime minister – but whatever they called him during his 15 years as prime minister he did much for this country and for all Bahamians. He should be a true inspiration to Bahamian youth who now know that regardless of their backgrounds they can also aspire to great heights.

 

September 07, 2012

 

Tribune242 Editorial

 

Caribbean Blog International

 

Hubert Ingraham should have invested not in roads but in the future of our youth... ... infrastructure work has not acted as a major stimulus to the economy... We are still experiencing almost zero growth

Ingranomics Part 1

By Ian G. Strachan

Last week we looked at some of the positives of the FNM’s term in office.  It’s time now to look at the flip side. What did they get wrong; where did they blow a golden opportunity and what damage have their decisions caused?

 

PLAYING IT BY THE BOOK

You’ve heard it many times but the world has been grappling with a global economic meltdown.  The USA, our biggest trading partner, has 14 million people unemployed and eight million people who can only find part time work.  In one year alone (2008-2009), U.S. unemployment increased by a mind-blowing 60 percent, from around nine to 14 million.  As the USA goes so do we.

The Ingraham administration weathered this crisis and it has been weathered largely through government borrowing and a concomitant refusal to adopt serious austerity measures. The result is a scary level of national debt which is costing us roughly $300 million a year to service (almost 40 times what we are spending this year in the Ministry of Agriculture and Marine Resources).

Now the orthodox economic approach, as I understand it, is that when your economy makes a downward turn--which all economies naturally do--governments must increase their spending to stave off unemployment and to keep money flowing.

Governments normally spend on infrastructure in times like these, so that when the economy rebounds, private business can more easily and effectively do its thing and the citizenry generally can enjoy a good quality of life (in so far as infrastructure lends itself to that).  Governments also have to figure out where to cut taxes as an incentive or to ease pressure and where to increase taxes and or tighten tax collection so they can continue to do their work despite the lean times. (NIB has been more diligent about collection, for instance, and this year we saw a reduction in the prime rate.)

Few governments in the world run on a surplus; they mostly run on a deficit and borrow to make up the difference.  A developing island nation like ours, with a little, one dimensional economy, but with citizens who have First World expectations, has had serious pressure placed on it these last four years.  Ingraham had no choice but to increase borrowing to maintain the bubble we live in and avert disaster; there was simply no other option.

The question voters must ask is, did we borrow money for projects that put us on the best possible footing going forward as a country?  Did we use this economic crisis as an opportunity to set our house in order and do some things we didn’t previously have the will to do?  Did our government also do everything in its power to increase its revenue base (a challenge in lean times) while at the same time being sure not to burden the small man with more taxes at a moment when he was least able to sustain it?

 

STIMULUS?

The FNM’s heavy emphasis on infrastructure, (and the kinds of infrastructural work chosen), has not eased the level of frustration and suffering in the country; in fact it has increased it for many.

First of all, infrastructure work has not acted as a major stimulus to the economy.  We are still experiencing almost zero growth.  These massive projects have not put a whole lot of money into the Bahamian economy.  One, the work has been done for the most part by foreign firms and two, most of the materials needed are imported, which means more money leaving than staying.  Three, they haven’t employed anywhere near the necessary number of Bahamians (even temporarily) to significantly ease the hardship in the society.  We needed to employ 7-10,000 to truly lift ourselves out of the doldrums and it just hasn’t happened.

One project that could have employed that many people in the short and long term is Baha Mar, but the deal cut with China ensures that much of the money spent will go right back where it came from and most of the temporary jobs too.  It was just a lousy deal and Parliament never should have agreed to it.  The PLP will argue that the FNM’s stopped, review and cancel policy stalled projects like Baha Mar and caused our economic slowdown.  I don’t buy it.

But whereas the FNM may argue that they invested the millions they borrowed in infrastructural improvements that will stand the test of time (they hope) and did not frit it away on nebulous programs/schemes that might have questionable long term benefits to the country, their approach was unimaginative, overly conservative and made life worse for Bahamians in the short to medium term.  The Ingraham administration demonstrated an unwillingness or inability to innovate or experiment. (The humble Self Starter Programme was the riskiest innovation they attempted in my view, but I would love to be corrected.)

The road works caused a number of homegrown businesses to die and displaced others.  It also made it difficult for businesses all over the island to deliver goods and services and made it difficult for employees to get to and from work.  And this has been going on for two and a half years.  I can’t begin to imagine how much that has cost individuals and businesses in time and money.  And the FNM government has been unable to convince anybody that they intend to make amends in some way during their term in office.

In the final analysis I can’t name one industry that the Bahamian government has helped to experience major growth through its powers to borrow, invest and to incentivize with tax breaks, so much that thousands of new, permanent jobs were created.  No, forget thousands, even hundreds.  Fishing?  Farming?  Light manufacturing?  Have we simply resigned ourselves to more decades of low productivity in these areas?  There’s nothing we can do to get things going in these sectors?

We are spending eight million out of our 1.9 billion dollar budget on Agriculture and Fisheries. That’s less than one half of one percent.  That is tragic.  Even a man as well meaning and thoughtful as Larry Cartwright can’t make miracles happen with that (especially in a nation where the men scoff at farming and fishing and all want to work a hotel job).  According to Cartwright 76 percent of government land leased to farmers is abandoned and 25,000 acres of available arable land lies dormant waiting for a small farmer to apply.  Well, I guess we’ll keep waiting.

 

DIG UP DIG UP

The FNM could have followed the recommendations of the experts they hired decades ago and created a single, Bahamian-owned bus company through public-private partnership and the economic times would have provided the perfect cover for doing so. This would have reduced traffic congestion, brought greater discipline and order to the society, increased efficiency, created new, permanent jobs, created opportunities for new satellite businesses, lowered the cost of living for many and hopefully increased tax revenue.  All for a fraction of the cost of the road works.

Instead, they chose to do road work and more roadwork.  As such, many believe Ingraham chose to reward his political allies with contracts and pass on the headache of the buses to future governments.  Instead he’s given two thirds of our nation a head ache.  His gamble is that the new roads will be appreciated by May 2012.  But he may very well lose that bet and lose power because of these roads.  I wonder, how much of these road works have been forced on us by these agreements we have made with China or Baha Mar?  The government should publish the Heads of Agreement docs in the papers and on line.

If I am going to risk losing an election over something unpopular, I’m going to at least make sure I lose over something that really will make life better for as many people as possible and will do the most lasting good.  Few think the Big Dig Up will do either.

They could have spent some of those millions in capital works on expanding The College of The Bahamas, which is a major employer and which empowers thousands and can empower even more Bahamians young and old.  Higher education is the most reliable avenue to escaping poverty, yet only 10 percent of Bahamians get a college education.  Expanding the college would create jobs within it and around it, it would allow more money to stay in The Bahamas since more students could attend, and it would ensure that we have a more competitive workforce in this information age.

COB needs more land, more classrooms, better labs, and bigger and better dormitories.  Ingraham should have invested not in roads but in the future of our youth.  He should have bought up the land surrounding the Oakes Field Campus, re-amalgamate BTVI and COB, and develop COB according to a Master Plan.  Instead Ingraham slammed brakes on the college’s growth by cutting its budget in 2009 and 2010, and he continues to ignore, abuse and mismanage BTVI (like the PLP before him).

What he will try to sell us on is that he modernized New Providence.  I suppose he tried in his way, but there are some holes in that one. Big holes. (I think I drove into one last night and almost drowned).

More next week.

Sep 26, 2011

thenassauguardian

Caribbean Blog International

The Bahamas is in a national security crisis that’s growing - and the country’s longstanding drug and gang war has only exacerbated the problem

Drug Gangs At War
By IANTHIA SMITH



The country is in a national security crisis, according to the Chairman of the National Youth Council.

In fact, Pastor Dave Burrows said he is not sure if there is an end in sight.

"I think we have a national security crisis that’s growing," he said yesterday while appearing as a guest on Love 97’s daily talk show "Issues of the Day" with host Wendall Jones.

"I don’t see a solution in sight. I see us working in different avenues to try and contain it, but I don’t see a solution in sight."

With 66 homicides already on the books for 2010 and a spate of armed robberies, shootings, stabbings and drug busts still posing a problem, authorities are constantly seeking to allay fears with the reminder that the situation is under control.

But many Bahamians are inclined to agree with Pastor Burrows.

Pastor Burrows has worked tirelessly for years with the country’s youth in a bid to save many of them from the world of drugs, crime and murder at time.

The Bahamas Christian Council once called for the National Youth Service Restorative Programme for Boys to be expanded to include a cross-section of Bahamian youth.

But the programme has since been scrapped.

According to police officials, of the 76 males murdered in 2009, 25 of the victims were under the age of 25.

Fifty-seven males have been murdered so far this year. Police said of this figure, 21 of the victims were under the age of 25.

Echoing sentiments recently expressed by noted psychiatrist Dr. David Allen, Pastor Burrows believes the country’s longstanding drug and gang war has only exacerbated the problem.

"You have a lot of drug retaliation and the incentive to kill in the drug business is higher than in any other business," he said.

But while Pastor Burrows believes the country’s national security is being threatened by the criminal element, he does not place the blame squarely at the government’s feet.

"Basically, in order for society to change, values need to change. You can give a guy a job, but if he has the wrong value system he would still rob people," he said.

"You can develop all kinds of programmes, but if on the inside, people are corrupt or their pursuit is corrupt and they are engrained in negative pursuits, no matter where you place them you will probably still end up with the same results and I don’t see a lot of [change] when it comes to changing the value system. I think our value system is deteriorating rather than getting better."

September 14th, 2010