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Wednesday, July 8, 2009

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Coalition formed to deal with crime problem By KRYSTEL ROLLE ~ Guardian Staff Reporter ~ krystel@nasguard.com: Last month, Customs Officer Collier Knowles was chopped to death with a cutlass in the Pinewood Gardens area. Weeks prior to Knowles' untimely death, Marlon Javon Smith was shot down in a hail of bullets just blocks away from where Knowles took his last breath. For these and other reasons, a coalition of churches has come together with the South Eastern Division of Police to fight crime in south eastern New Providence —an area that is notorious for violent crimes and house break-ins. Member of Parliament for Pinewood Byran Woodside, who organized the meeting between church leaders and the police, said that in the little time he has spent in office he has seen too many heartaches. "There is a sense of urgency when it comes to crime and the criminal element," Woodside said as he addressed a press conference yesterday at Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church, Pigeon Plum Street. "In my constituency of Pinewood, I've been in office now for two years. And (during) the two years I've been in office, I've had to visit too many homes and have had to sit with mothers who have lost their children to violent crimes in the community. It is a heart wrenching experience to sit with a family when they've lost a loved one, especially young men who've been cut down just too soon in their prime." Woodside said that was his inspiration to meet with area police, in a bid to formulate a plan to combat crime in the community. "And we recognized that we could not do it alone. So I thought it was most appropriate to bring the church squarely in the middle of it to provide spiritual counsel and to focus and arrest the issue of crime," he added. Father Sebastian Campbell, who chairs the Southeast Community Church Fellowship, also noted that the area is particularly troubled by the criminal element. He said the South Eastern Division is probably the most crime ridden area in the entire Bahamas. As a result, he said he is asking all of the churches in the south eastern part of New Providence to come on board. "The church has the strongest constituency of people anywhere in the country...thousands of people gather. And too often the church is being accused of being asleep and doing nothing. So rather than each church doing this on their own, why not present a united front and use our resources for the common good of this area," he said. Meantime, Supt. Stephen Dean, the officer in charge of the South Eastern Division, said over the past months in particular, the police have seen some incidents of crime and anti-social behavior in that area. "We believe with this initiative, which is such a noble undertaking, that we will be able to minimize and get to the root causes of incidents that happen," he said. The superintendent admitted that the area is particularly plagued with homicide cases. He said that division has one of the highest rates of murder in the country. "The homicides that have been occurring in these areas are a major concern to us. They have many connotations, whether domestic or drug related — they seem to be the two factors that lead to most of the homicides in our area and it is no secret. So this is a problem that we're trying to address." According to The Nassau Guardian's records, eight of the homicides this year have taken place in the southeastern division. Additionally, Supt. Dean said the police have noted a problem among the youth in the area. "When we talk about the anti-social behavior, a number of young people are suspended out of school and we have noticed when we are arresting people for things like housebreaking, these have been most of the perpetrators involved," he said. He added that it was important for the church to develop youth programs, so that there could be some form of intervention. Recently, several residents living in the south eastern area told The Guardian that they are living in fear. One resident said she fears for her safety and admitted that the once quiet nights in the southern New Providence community now sound like an active gun range. Friday, July 3, 2009