A leading anti-crime activist predicted yesterday that the country could be on the brink of an outbreak of serious crime if stakeholders don’t take immediate steps to become more actively involved in a comprehensive and focused battle plan.
Bahamas Against Crime (BAC) Executive Director Rev. CB Moss revealed that intelligence he has received from sources shows a significant surge in serious crimes, including homicides, armed robberies, burglaries, house-breaking, and theft.
Rev. Moss said this scourge in crime could be experienced through the duration of the year.
He said that this rapid rise in crime will be fuelled by three factors, including increased gang and drug warfare; a surge in theft as the holiday season approaches and the ability of criminals to keep up with changing techniques and strategies being implemented by law enforcement to aid in the fight in the crime.
This spike in crime, Rev. Moss said, could be blunted only if all sectors of society play a role in the efforts to redress the problem.
“We must fully understand what we are dealing with. Crime is really a major social problem but we seem to be dealing with primarily from military and legal perspectives which are very important but however, we are still not getting to the root of the problem,” he said.
“We sense a degree of confusion in this country as it relates to how to deal with crime in the country and so we are engaged in a lot of peripheral action rather than going directly to the core of the problem.”
Rev. Moss also called for the creation of a master plan that will involve the church, business community, the media and the government to aggressively look at the root causes of crime in the country and ways to address those issues.
“Every major sector of the society must step to help in our efforts to beat back crime and not just contain it,” he said.
“We recognise that success is within our grasp and we must not allow it to get away or be stagnated. The police, Urban Renewal, the justice system and community initiatives by the public and private sectors must be strongly supported by all.”
Rev. Moss said while he supports the government’s Urban Renewal Programme, which is aimed at reducing crime, he feels there is still more that has to be done and he said more can only be done when more hands are involved.
His comments come on the heels of a recent spate of murders, including the fatal shooting of 29-year-old Jasnall Roberts on Hospital Lane Monday night and the murder of 19-year-old Lamar Bain of Yellow Elder on Tuesday.
