Bahamas News
Bahamas PM wants to know which Islanders are Buying Guns in US, calls for Regional push
By Rashaed Esson
Staff Writer
#TrinidadandTobago, April 21, 2023 – The Honourable Philip Davis, KC, MP, Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas and Chairman of CARICOM, at the Crime Symposium, which lasted from April 17th to 18th, 2023, in his opening remarks said crime is an “epidemic,” which we should treat like any public health crisis by defining, monitoring the problems, and identifying the risks to develop mitigation strategies.
Davis said, “An epidemic of violence grips our region, one that claims lives and generates fear and anger.”
To emphasize this, he pointed to statistics revealing that in 2022; Jamaica had à homicide rate of 52.9 per 100,000 inhabitants, Trinidad, 39.4, The Bahamas, St.Vincent and the Grenadines, and St. Lucia with a rate above 30 percent, which surpasses the global average five times.
He further gave attention to the issue of guns, the leading weapon of choice for violent crime in the region. Davis revealed that the guns used in roughly 70 percent of violent crimes were smuggled into the region.
“In The Bahamas, 98.6 percent of all recovered illegal firearms can be traced directly to the United States. In Haiti, 87.7 percent of all recovered firearms can be traced likewise. In Jamaica, it amounts to 67 percent of all recovered
forearms and here in Trinidad and Tobago it amounts to 52 percent.”
Considering this, he added that the Bahamas, Antigua and Barbuda, St.Vincent and the Grenadines, T&T, and Mexico and the Latin American Caribbean Network for Human Security, collaboratively filed a brief to the US Court of Appeal for a $10 Billion lawsuit, holding US gun Manufacturers liable for the detrimental effects their guns have made in the countries.
In addition, he said CARICOM has asked the US Government and US-based gun manufacturers to work with the member states to identify weapons bought in the US; this is in order to hold the dealers and traffickers, accountable.
Davis, who sat as Chairman of the last convening of CARICOM in The Bahamas in February urged the region to “leverage” the Caribbean and US partnership under the Crime and Gun Intelligence Unit to deal with the issue of guns.
Davis pointed to a deficiency; citing the dire need for the development of data-based violence reduction models, pointing to another gut-wrenching statistic: 13 young adults ages 16 to 30 lose their lives from violent crime in the region on a typical day.
During the panel discussion, Davis, who is an attorney by profession, referred to the Bahamian context where successive administrations have given more attention to the detection, prosecution and punishment of crime and not enough to prevention and rehabilitation, and if the cycle of violence is to stop, that format must be disrupted.
The Bahamas’ prime minister added that violent crimes are informed by a cycle of behaviour, in this case bad behaviour, and to break it, early robust intervention to facilitate prevention is needed, going back on his earlier point to treat crime and violence like a ‘public health crisis.’
Rashaed Esson
Staff Writer
#TheBahamas, August 5, 2023 – An American woman has been arrested in The Bahamas, accused of conspiring with two men, one of them alleged to be her lover, to murder her estranged husband.
The woman, 36 year old Lindsay Shiver and the two men, 28-year-old Terrance Bethel, the alleged lover and 29 year old Faron Newbold, were taken into custody last week following police investigation of a reported burglary at
Grabbers Bar and Grill restaurant on Great Guana Cay.
The police looked into their cell phones and found WhatsApp messages detailing the assassination plot to kill her husband.
The couple, who built a life in South Georgia have three children and are home owners on the island in the Abacos.
News outlets throughout the US have reported on the scandalous story, including that a nasty court battle over the couple’s reported, $5 Million dollar fortune and three children was underway. Shiver, an entrepreneur is a former beauty Alabama queen, her husband a former football player was an insurance executive.
According to US media, the husband, Robert, recently filed for divorce from Shivers after a decade of marriage upon discovering she had an alleged extra-martial affair with Bethel whom she met in The Bahamas.
While the husband claims infidelity on the part of his wife, the wife claims he was abusive.
The suspects Shiver, Bethel and Newbold appeared before Acting Chief Magistrate Roberto Reckley on Friday July 28th. Their next court date is set for October 5th.
Rashaed Esson
Staff Writer
#TheBahamas, August 5, 2023 – The Bahamas is now facing an unfortunate reality as sexual assault has become and is a growing issue since 2023. Women and girls are said to be living in fear for their safety from these perpetrators.
The Royal Bahamas Police force has reported on instances of assault in press releases found on their Facebook page.
One report spoke of a 50 year old they were searching for after he burglarized a home and sexually assaulted an elderly woman, 82 years old. She was reported to be asleep when he woke and assaulted her.
This took place on Tuesday July 11th, 2023 at the home in the Centreville area of Nassau.
There is another incident that took place on July 17th, 2023 which the police are seeking in catching the suspect as they investigate. It involves a man believed to the perpetrator in for an armed robbery and sexual assault.
According to preliminary data, he approached the victim, a female, with a firearm, robbed her and sexually assaulted
her. He proceeded to enter the house and robbed a male and escaped. This happened in the Cowpen Road area; also in Nassau.
The assaults continue to grow in number as the police reported that they were investigating two other incidents that took place on July 24th.
The first had to do with a female, 30 years old who reported she was driving on West on Marshall Road when two men approached her after she slowed down near Faith Avenue. One of the males with a firearm, forced her from her vehicle and took her to nearby bushes where they sexually assaulted her after which they escaped.
The second incident involved à 32 year old woman who was sexually assaulted by a male known to her. It is reported that she was walking in the Fleming Street area when she accepted transportation from the suspect, who drove her to a dirt road off Gladstone Road where he presented a firearm and proceeded to rape her.
Furthermore, another assault, this time involving a 9 year old girl, was reported. As revealed by preliminary information, the victim was playing with friends outside where she lives on Saturday July 29th, 2023 when the suspect, a 42 year old male of Summerset Estate, driving a white Nissan Skyline, arrived and gestured to her to enter the car.
She entered the car after which he took her to an unknown location, threatened her and sexually assaulted her. She was later found somewhere in Spikenard Road; this also happened in Nassau.
Fortunately, he was caught and arrested for abduction and sexual assault on Sunday July 30th by officers affiliated with the Drug Enforcement Unit.
There are other reports of sexual assault throughout The Bahamas as well as rape and attempted rape during the earlier parts of the year, dating back to as early as February.
CAPTION: Women Leaders, including Ann Marie Davis, wife of the Prime Minister filled the gallery of The Bahamas Senate this week as members of the upper chamber debated the Protection Against Violence Bill 2023. The debate came just as the country experiences a spike in sexual assaults against women and girls. Photo by Patrick Hanna, BIS.
#TurksandCaicos, August 5, 2023 – On August 3rd, 2023, Premier Misick met with the Leader of the
Opposition of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas, the Honorable Michael Pintard. The discussion was highly productive, and they delved into matters of mutual concern between their neighboring nations. Hon. Pintard was accompanied by other opposition members, including Senator the Honorable Darren Handfield and Mr. Joshua Sears.
Group photo caption:
From Left to Right: Mr. Joshua Sears, Senator Hon. Darren Hendfield, Premier Hon. Charles Washington Misick, Bahamas Leader of the Bahamas Hon. Michael Pintard and Deputy Premier Hon. Erwin J. Saunders.
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