With the country nearing 90 murders and detractors insinuating that the government has no crime plan at all to curb the crime issue, Minister of National Security Marvin Dames said the government has policies in place and the roll out of a concrete plan is the responsibility of the Commissioner of Police.

Mr. Dames told The Bahama Journal Tuesday morning that the law specifies it is the commissioner’s responsibly to layout a crime plan.

“We articulate the policy and then the law enforcement takes that policy and creates that into operation initiatives, in this case a crime plan. The commissioner of police has the responsibility to bring to the government, to the people at the end of each year a crime plan that will cover the ensuing year,” he said.

“Midway into that period that crime plan is reviewed to determine its effectiveness and to determine whether they are making the goals they have set out in their plan.”

Mr. Dames insists that those persons who are guilty of chiding, the government must stop “playing politics” with crime and take a look at the cold hard facts.

“We have laid out quite a number of policy decisions and we are quite pleased with it,” he said.

“In the short term, we talked about policing hot spots, we talked about increasing visibility in many of the areas where there is a concern with violent crime and the police have been doing it. There are lots of good stories out there.”

Mr. Dames noted specifically the numerous illegal firearm apprehensions over the weekend.

Moreover, as Prime Minister Dr. Hubert Minnis recently put it, most of the country’s violent crime is caused by young men, many of whom are “poorly socialized and who often have little regard for life.”

Dr. Minnis is convinced that along with good policing and a more efficient judicial system, it is the combination of community guidance and economic, educational and training opportunities that will ultimately reduce the scourge of crime.