By IANTHIA SMITH, NG Staff Reporter, ianthia@nasguard.com

A high-ranking pastor and anti-crime activist said criminals and their activities are quickly eating away at the very fabric of the country.

After two violent daylight bank robberies occurred in as little as three weeks, sending Bahamians into a frenzy, Executive Director of Bahamas Against Crime (BAC), Rev C. B. Moss, said incidents like this point to a serious crisis in the country. He said while many might think that the country's toughened economic situation might play a part in some Bahamians having to "rob and kill for what they want," he thinks the economy has nothing to do with it. He added that while he agrees the country is facing some trying times with its economic situation, the amount of criminal activity in the country simply points to a major crime crisis.

"I think it's more than just economic desperation," Moss said. "I think it's a mixture of a lot of things going on which is leading this country down the long, dark road for the lawless - a total breakdown of law and order. There's a disrespect for institutions in this country and a disrespect for authority, and now crime and criminality is becoming a part of our everyday culture. Unless this society wakes up and takes control of this situation, it's going to get worst. We are in a crisis in this country, that's all it is."

Moss said it's high time the government and the civic organizations link up to put plans in place to fix the problem, before it continues to spiral out of control. He said yesterday's bank robbery points to yet another example that the country is fighting a battle that is simply getting tougher to deal with.

The BAC executive director said he finds it quite strange that nowadays, Bahamians can muster up the strength to open fire on a bank in broad daylight. He said while he agrees that the country is being challenged by rising prices, he does not believe these criminal acts are merely out of desperation and not greed.

"If you ask about whether this is merely a sign of desperation in the face of the economic situation," Moss said. "I don't think it's nearly that as much as it is a sign of the total disrespect for law and order in the country. I support the fact that the country is not doing that well, however, there are many other legitimate ways for people to secure money. Robbing a bank is not one of those ways."

On Wednesday four people were shot - including one of the three suspects and a police officer - during the daylight Scotiabank robbery on East Street and Soldier Road. And on June 9, business at the Golden Gates branch of the Commonwealth Bank came to a screeching halt when two unmasked gunmen were able to get away with an undetermined amount of cash. According to police reports, the men involved in yesterday's bank heist may be well known to the police, but Chief Superintendent Glenn Miller said preliminary investigations would confirm if these men were out on bail.

While the figures were unavailable up to press time yesterday, Miller and Acting Commissioner of Police Reginald Ferguson both said they don't remember there being even one bank robbery last year, while this year, in less than a month robbers have already violently robbed two.

But Ferguson said you'd be surprised to know just how many more similar plans were in the making. He said even though robbers were able to hold up those two banks, police intelligence work was able to foil many more robbery attempts around the country - including those at other banks. Ferguson said what may have looked like a lull in the number of bank robberies around the island was simply the act of good policing.

"This is what intelligence is capable of doing," Ferguson said. "A lot of things go into the mix when you look at strategies put in place to deal with crime and the criminal element out there. The presence we have in the communities, what we're doing about neighborhood policing, putting as many people in those communities as we could and the kind of intelligence we have, that might enable us to prevent some of the things that might have ordinarily taken place. All of these things go together in bringing about what people think might be a quiet time in robberies, especially of banks, it depends a lot on the work the police and what the public is doing out there."

While bank robberies may not be commonplace in the country, Ferguson said he knows about a number of criminals who have had various bank locations as their targets for major heists. He added that even though police officials were able to thwart these plans, some of them always fall through the cracks, he said, as in yesterday's incident.

Acting Commissioner Ferguson and Moss both agreed that the country's economic situation might not warrant these violent acts, but one thing they say they know for sure is that these criminals are very determined to get what they want.