Bahamas gets crime-fighting recommendations

By Melissa Bryant
Reporter~SKNVibes.com

~~Adz:Right~~NASSAU, Bahamas – A National Advisory Council on Crime has made 40 recommendations to the Bahamas government on fighting crime across the country.

According to Caribbean 360, last week the Council presented its findings and solutions to Minister of National Security Tommy Turnquest.

Those solutions include the use of electronic monitoring for persons given bail while awaiting trial in criminal proceedings and the use of Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) in schools and other areas.

A government release stated that another key recommendation is the need for the establishment of a permanent mechanism in the form of an Inspectorate or Secretariat for Crime that would be responsible for the coordination, monitoring and evaluation of national anti-crime efforts.

Council Chairman Bishop Simeon Hall said the report is expected to serve as “an action plan that not only provides the government with recommendations, but also advises on the way forward with regards to the short, medium and long-term solutions to some of the challenges facing the country”.

He asserted that the document provides a comprehensive look at crime and criminality and its effects on The Bahamas.

“We usually look at crime as to the punishment aspect of it and not enough emphasis is placed on prevention and the socialisation process of it with regards to how a person may have come to this state and some of them at an early age.

“We did not get here overnight and we will not get over this in the short-term. It is going to take every Bahamian who loves his or her country participating, and one way of participating is not to accommodate criminals on any level,” Hall said.