By: Clement Butler
With the frequency of homicides since the start of the new year, the natural response among regular citizens and politicians has been to figure out why such a surge has happened and what could be done to end the senseless violence. On January 7th, ZNS had reported that the Prime Minister, along with the help of the Christian Council, called for a National Day of Prayer amid the uptick in homicide cases. On January 9th, The Tribune had reported that the Police Commissioner and Christian Council leaders met with and spoke to some young boys, who were said to be in gangs, to try and come to an understanding with them. While I understand and sympathize with the sentiments from the authoritative parties, I feel as though a more thorough analysis can be done to provide hope for the Bahamian people.
Despite the good intentions, a National Day of Prayer and a stern talking-to won’t cut it in terms of being able to change the behaviors of those that seek a life of crime. Just like with the United States’ epidemic of school shootings, the sentiment of “thoughts and prayers” doesn’t amount to much. Instead, the government must take a deep look into why these murders have been occurring. One way of doing so would be to look at the economic background of those that commit these crimes because, as one economist puts it, “being poor or in poverty has a correlation with violent crime with a high level of confidence.” Beyond that, countless other studies have been done to show the direct relationship between poverty and crime. Essentially, the way people act is a reflection of the economic conditions within a country and people’s experiences in that economy, and the government pretty much controls the economy. Therefore, for viable measures to be taken, the government must shape the economy so that these people have no need for a life of crime and can maintain a healthy lifestyle within society.
In The Bahamas, the minimum wage was set to $6.50/hour in January of 2023, our cost of living ranks us as the 15th most expensive country to live in, whereas the United Kingdom is 16th on that list. Along with this, the rate at which our cost-of-living increases over time is the 4th highest in the world, while the rate at which rent prices increase over time is ranked the 12th highest. When the average worker in The Bahamas faces the perpetual struggle of affording to comfortably exist, falling into a life of crime becomes more and more a reality. Even in the case of the young boys who were said to be gang members, despite them not being old enough to have graduated high school, enter the work force, and live independently of their parents, there still exists the likelihood of these boys coming from homes that would be considered impoverished. Living in such conditions as a child, while being in close proximity to those that have managed to afford a relatively easier life through committing crimes, whether it be theft, selling of illegal drugs, or even murder, would corrupt the child into thinking that they too must pursue a life of crime to live a more comfortable life. To this line of thought, some responses would be along the lines of, “well where are the parents?” To that, I would say that they are either at work or too tired from working once they’ve reached home to interact with their children to give them proper morals or be the kind of parent they would like to be. When the average experience of a working parent is spending more time at work than with loved ones, while struggling to comfortably live off the wages from working, there remains very little energy in the parents at the end of the workday to successfully be a parent, thus dooming the child into a life of crime.
Fundamentally, while I understand that the Prime Minister and the RBPF are doing what they believe is best, it most certainly isn’t enough. More can be, and should be, done if the government is to ensure that this uptick in crime is brought down.
