With already nine homicides for the year, one has to take a serious look at not only the potential impact crime has on the economy but its psychological aspect on our society, this as studies have shown that crime and violence result in cognitive and behavioral changes, especially among young people.

The Journal spoke with Assistant Psychology Professor at the University of the Bahamas Dr. Niambi Hall –Campbell spoke about the importance of feeling safe and the affect crime has on one’s mental wellbeing.

“Overall with the crime issue, I think it speaks to person’s sense of safety and safety is connected to our sense of wellbeing, Deepak Chopra was here on Saturday and he spoke about wellness measures in communities.

“Saying one way you could measure this is asking people if they feel safe to walk outside by their self and I don’t know many people that would say yes they feel safe.

“Without data to support saying persons are living in a constant state of fear I wouldn’t say that but I would say the high crime rate affects people’s sense of well-being, for example if you don’t feel safe going outside at night, the only time you have to exercise or go for a walk is in the afternoon.

“The fear can have psychological effects that can manifest into real physical and physiological effects,” Dr. Hall- Campbell said.

Dr. Hall-Campbell also spoke to the mental makeup of criminals, something she said is much more complex than one would assume.

“This is something we have to be careful with because we first have to understand who the criminal is, when we look at the criminal profile its normally a young Bahamian male.

“So are they committing crimes because of the lack of opportunity, or are they unable to properly communicate their emotions, their anger, so the only way they know how to communicate is through violence,” Dr. Hall

Last week the Commissioner of Police revealed that serious crime went down 29% in the country.