Published by Youri Kemp, Nassau Guardian, November 21st , 2024
The Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Employers’ Confederation (BCCEC) has called on the government to increase the police presence ahead of the Christmas shopping season.
The BCCEC, in a statement to Guardian Business, pointed to the sudden increase in crime over the past few weeks, most notably a four-man armed robbery that left a business owner and his customers shaken. It is renewing its call for the government to increase the police presence, especially with the onset of the busy holiday the season, to keep residents, tourists, and business establishments safe.
“This brazen robbery only solidifies the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) report which highlights the impact of crime on GDP [gross domestic product],” the BCCEC added.
“Moreover, it validates the BCCECs continuous call for the increased ease and decreased cost of doing business in The Bahamas, as our members already have to contend with several competing factors that erode their bottom line, and a myriad of challenges including crime. These added costs are passed onto the consumer and undoubtedly fuels the inflation and economic fallout we are experiencing today.”
The IDB in a recent report on the cost of crime said “The cost of homicides in Latin America and the Caribbean for 2022, estimated at 0.44 percent of GDP, is more than twice the cost recorded in other regions of the world.”
The BCCEC continued: “While we note the previous concerns about manpower in the armed forces, we hope that this will be remedied by the introduction of new police officers earlier this month, who can be deployed in crime-ridden, high-traffic areas, or used to relieve officers in other departments that can now be shifted to the front line, given their experience and expertise. As before, the BCCEC welcomes the opportunity to collaborate with the government by providing business mapping for heavily saturated areas, and filtering the direct concerns from our members/the business community relative to lighting, patrols, vagrants, blind spots and other aspects that can impede the safety of the shopping public. We will not rest until this matter is addressed with the urgency it requires.”
The BCCEC also advised the public, especially business owners, to take special precautions this upcoming Christmas season by “being vigilant, investing in security, and keeping minimal amounts of cash in their stores”.
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