Despite the massive bloodshed throughout the country, particularly in the capital over the past several months, Minister of National Security Dr. Bernard Nottage said crime figures, including murder, are down when compared to the January to April timeframe last year.

He made the announcement during “A Report to the Nation: Second Anniversary of Governance” a special press conference held by Cabinet ministers on the eve of their second anniversary in office.

“Overall there has been a systematic reduction in crime, this year for example between January and end of April, we’ve had a reduction in all phases of crime in the country both against people except that there was a slight increase in the numbers of rape and in crimes against property,” he said.

“I just want to remind everybody that in 2011 the year before we became the government there were 127 murders in the country and in our first year in government at least the first seven months there were 111 so there was a reduction, last year there were 119 so we’re still below the volume that we met.”

He added that murders are of much concern to the government as it contributes to high levels of fear among citizens and reported that in New Providence there has been one less murder recorded this year when compared to the January to April period.

“I single out murders because murders are the thing that creates concern among the population that they’re most concerned about, if were able to reduce the number of murders per year that would be a tremendous relief to the average persons in our country,” he said.

He added that men ages 15 to 25 are responsible for the majority of violent crimes in the country which include murder and added that drugs, gangs and a number of other factors are contributing to the crime issue.

“Research has shown that family dysfunction forms the basis for a lot of the crime,” he said.

“There are many absent fathers, when we polled the students of the “over the hill” communities we found that 80 per cent of students live in a home where the mother is the head of the household. Fifty per cent has a man at the head of a household so what does that tell you? We have the problem of poor education, too many of our youngsters drop out of school early, or get suspended or expelled, I’m one of those who believe that the school system does not have the right to put anybody out but what we have to be able to do is to identify those students who have a problem and submit them to conditions to strategies that will help to reform them.”

Prime Minister Perry Christie said at during the Cabinet briefing yesterday, that efforts are being made to speed up the court system to reduce the amount of people who commit murder and are later granted bail as a result of back logged cases.

“The Juries Act is being shaped and fashioned now for first reading in parliament where we are amending the Juries Act again to make the system of justice able to conform more to the requirements and the challenges that we now face.”

Minister Nottage said significant progress is being made in the fight against crime and added that he is satisfied with the efforts made so far.