{"id":23595,"date":"2012-07-12T08:42:36","date_gmt":"2012-07-12T12:42:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/?p=23595"},"modified":"2012-07-12T08:42:36","modified_gmt":"2012-07-12T12:42:36","slug":"focus-on-crime-infested-communities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/2012\/07\/focus-on-crime-infested-communities","title":{"rendered":"Focus On Crime -Infested Communities"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
stash house just off Baillou Hill Road<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

NASSAU, The Bahamas — The Government of The Bahamas will continue to intensify its efforts to rid “crime infested” Bahamian communities of criminal activity by taking away the \u201ccomfort zones\u201d of criminals, Minister of National Security, Dr. Bernard J. Nottage said.<\/p>\n

And that includes the continued demolition of abandoned buildings and removal of derelict vehicles used as \u201cstash houses\u201d for drugs, guns and ammunition by criminal enterprises and any other illegal activities. This will all occur under the auspices of the Urban Renewal Programme.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe hold fast to the philosophy that we can either prevent it now, or combat it later,\u201d Dr. Nottage said.<\/p>\n

Addressing the official launch of the Urban Renewal Commission, at the Paul Farquharson Centre Wednesday, Dr. Nottage said the government-initiated programme has \u201csignificantly impacted\u201d the manner in which the Royal Bahamas Police Force, and by extension other government agencies, \u201cpolice the community by consent.\u201d<\/p>\n

(The National Security Minister was one of four Government Ministers to address the launch. Other speakers were Prime Minister, the Rt. Perry G. Christie; Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Urban Development Philip B. Davis and Minister of Social Services and Community Development Melanie S. Griffin).<\/p>\n

Dr. Nottage further said there is a correlation between abandoned buildings and criminal enterprise.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou would note that in most areas where you find criminals or criminal enterprises, there is an abandoned building, derelict vehicles or overgrown bushes that are used by them (criminals) nearby,\u201d Dr. Nottage said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese individuals are fully aware that in many crimes where possession is an element, the prosecution must prove custody and control. Where they are not found in possession of the illegal contraband makes the case more challenging for the police.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur objective therefore, is to take away their hiding spaces as well as enhance the environment at the same time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dr. Nottage said persons questioning the value in the tactics of demolishing abandoned buildings, removing derelict vehicles and the clearing of overgrown properties, can look to a recent discovery as proof of that value.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn clearing a property opposite Grace Community Church a couple of weeks ago, police found, among other things, two magazines for an AK47 Rifle and whoever hid them there must be in possession of what these are used to serve,\u201d Dr. Nottage said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn Bain Town last week, Police found a stash of marijuana in an abandoned building that has since been demolished (along with four others similarly used); guns have been found and so when people criticise us saying that all we are doing is taking down abandoned buildings, we don\u2019t understand what they are seeking to do.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese abandoned buildings are being used for illegal enterprises; these derelict vehicles that people are leaving on the streets are creating an environment for crime, and for people to be able to hide their crimes, and for people to be able to prey upon innocent people in our community.<\/p>\n

\u201cAny person(s) who abandon houses, who leaves these derelict vehicles in the road are helping criminals to destabilise our communities,\u201d Dr. Nottage added.<\/p>\n

By Matt Maura
\nBahamas Information Services<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Crime infested Bahamian communities of criminal activity are being targeted by taking away the \u201ccomfort zones\u201d of criminals.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":45,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"facebook_10223285771444175_51037792744":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[133,31,67,237,189],"class_list":["post-23595","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-lifestyle","tag-community","tag-crime","tag-drugs","tag-guns","tag-housing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23595","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/45"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23595"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23595\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23595"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23595"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23595"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}