By Latonya Roberts – Journal Staff Writer

On Monday, Police Commissioner Shanta Knowles underscored that the goal of
the Royal Bahamas Police Force is to keep the Bahamian public safe and revealed
2024 crime statistics that showed a climb in the murder count and a reduction in
the number of rapes in the country when compared to 2023.
She made the statement and informed reporters of the 2024 statistics at the annual
“Meet the Press” conference at the Paul Farquharson Centre.
“In our quest to keep the Bahamian public safe, we heightened police visibility
throughout the Commonwealth. As a crime preventative measure, we ran daily
police operations targeting hotspots and prolific offenders” she said.
“As a crime deterrent strategy, we conducted road checks and engaged in
aggressive stop and search tactics to remove illegal firearms and dangerous drugs
from our streets. We executed numerous search warrants and detained persons on
court warrants and bought them before the courts,” Commissioner Knowles added.
Knowles then turned attention to firearms and ammunition statistics. “We were
able to seize 421 illegal firearms and 29,012 rounds of ammunition in 2024.
Representing a 19% and a 223% increase in firearm and ammunition seizures
when compared to 2023. As a result of this we arrested 495 persons and charged
340 persons with possession of illegal firearms”.
She further explained, “the transshipment of illegal drugs remains a challenge due
to the open waters and the navigational routes. However, we will continue to
secure our ports and borders with all the resources available to us.”
Last year parliamentarians passed legislation legalizing cannabis for medical use,
decriminalizing small amounts and recognizing it as a sacrament in the Rastafarian
community but it has yet to be enacted but large amounts of marijuana remain
illegal.
“Notably, we were able to seize an estimated 3,006 pounds of marijuana, 270
marijuana pounds, and 3,070 pounds of cocaine for the year in review. As a result,
we were able to arrest and charge more persons in 2024 with drug related offences
than we did in 2023. Treats tainted with marijuana such as candy, oils, edibles, and

gummies continue to be a major cause for concern, and we are working diligently
to keep them out of the reaches of our children”, Commissioner Knowles said.
Switching gears to the amount of traffic fatalities in the year 2024, the Police
Commissioner highlighted several measures put in place to support road safety.
“We conducted thousands of traffic stops and cited motorists that were in violation
of traffic laws. We utilized out speed guns to monitor our highways and crack
down on reckless drivers as a means to encourage road safety. We mobilized
officers throughout The Bahamas and issued over 20,737 fixed penalties notices
and investigated 11,157 road accidents.”
Knowles also said, “despite our traffic initiatives and alerts, 66 persons lost their
lives in 59 fatal crashes which represents a 16% increase over the previous year.”
In 2024, the country mourned the tragic killings of 12-year-ol Adriel Moxey and
72-year-old Vernencha Butler, shifting the country to focus more on violence
against women and children. Knowles highlighted the number of rape cases for the
year 2024 when compared to 2023.
A total of 46 rape cases were confirmed in 2024, which is a 6% decrease from the
61 recorded cases in 2023.
Although some of these increases may seem scary, Police Commissioner Shanta
Knowles said that major crimes have decreased for the year in review.
“Preliminary figures for 2024 indicate that major crimes across the Commonwealth
of The Bahamas decreased by 10% with 2,825 cases compared to 3,153 cases
reported in 2023. There was a regional decrease across the board at a rate of 10%
in New Providence, 10% in Grand Bahama, and in the Family Islands district
15%”, she said.
One hundred and five (105) murders in New Providence for the year in review,
which represented a 1% decrease over 2023 when 106 murders were recorded.
Additionally, three murders were recorded in the Family Islands which is an
increase from one incident in 2023. Twelve (12) murders were recorded in Grand
Bahama and the Northern district which is an increase from 3 murders in 2023.