Beneath our paradise, lies a daunting social reality entangled with a growing culture of criminality. The Bahamas geographical position and porous borders are significantly strategic for the drug trade and the trafficking of illegal weapons. Unearthing the solutions to The Bahamas crime problem has become both urgent and more complex in an environment of ; social decay , inequality of opportunities , disenfranchisement of young Bahamians, and unprecedented levels of gang retaliation, and an ineffective judicial system that is failing society.

The scourge of violence has exacerbated an already political polarized environment smoothed with the fear of crime. The key priority of this article is correctly identifying measures to reduce criminal behavior in The Bahamas and advancing policy reforms to respond to the escalation of violence in our country. The See Do Culture, that exist in our country, has led to strong paternalism of character of the environment. The decomposition of our social structure and our growing inability to adequately contain the disappearance of social distinction has led to pathologies harmful to our national development. It's imperative that we understand the social construction of crime, beginning with unplanned and unintended pregnancies.

There are tremendous difficulties trying to control human behavior, but children born to young mothers face elevated risk of poverty. There’s a direct correlation between children born in the circumstances of unintended pregnancies and the consequences that leave them in a less desirable position in many dimensions inclusive of educational achievement, social and emotional development, health, and access to employment opportunities. These children are vulnerable to child abuse and neglect. All of the above are variables for the development of criminal behavior. Encouraging young Bahamian women to use effective forms contraceptive method and educating them about the availability,convenience, safety, and effectiveness of these contraceptive devices is a strategic approach in reducing the amount of less advantage Bahamian females having children as a result of unplanned pregnancies.

The candour of the matter is simple; we bear a social cost that range from increasing welfare participation, surge in the crime rate, and diminishing levels of high-school completions. The cultural norm, that persist in our country now, indicates that there is less of a stigma associated to individuals engaging in premarital sex and out-of-wedlock childbearing in comparisons to a few decades ago. The policy solution must be engaging in a mass media campaign that brings necessary awareness of social and economic cost associated to unintended pregnancies. There must be the development of teen pregnancy prevention programs targeted on at-risk teens. The expansion of family planning services can beneficial in increasing rates of contraceptive use and reducing unintended childbearing. Prudent investment can be used to alleviate the problem supported by social interventions and also can generate significant taxpayers saving. These policy measures can change the social and economic trajectory of these children and families.

The implementation of a social policy should outline measures to improve the state of parenthood in our country. The importance of addressing the stubborn problems of economic inequality and immobility facing single parent families is becoming one of the nation’s most vexing social issue. The statistic from this issue is problematic and indicates an intensifying disadvantage for these families and their children. Policy intervention must articulate the creation of stable home environments for the development of children. It's imperative that we maintain and even strengthen existing safety nets for single parent homes. We should create a culture where children live with both biological parents in order to provide a stable environment producing healthy relationships. Implement marriage and fatherhood programs to promote child well-being.

Youth unemployment and the lack of job creation is a problem for social mobility in our country. Unemployment among young people is concentrated highly among the more disadvantaged population. We have to strengthen the collaboration and connection between local education institutions and the local employment market to improve job prospects. The government must strengthen their financial commitment to existing programs that reconnect young adults to education and employment opportunities, provide special incentives on the behalf of the government through a public-private partnership that benefit young unemployed Bahamians, and expand mentoring programs. We have to be cohesive in our attempts to align young people the necessary skills required to develop and diversify our industries.

The economic outcome for individuals dropping out high school poses a daunting challenge for them for the rest of their lives. The continued in completion of education on the behalf of Bahamian students undermine our shared future prosperity. A knowledge-based country where every citizen has a high school degree makes us as Bahamian not just the direct beneficiaries of that education, but better off. Policies should encourage students to stay in school longer making it compulsory schooling age to eighteen if that policy doesn’t exist. Undergo the expansion of parental involvement throughout outreach programs, refocus our priority on strengthening and creating mentoring and tutoring programs, and lastly strategically identify promising alternative education programs.

The reduction of barriers for ex-criminals for re-entry in the labor market is important. The government should establish a prisoner reentry program with a core focus on prison to work transition into employment. It's increasing challenging for ex-prisoners to reenter our society and assume their social responsibility. The expansion of the educational program inside prison can assist ex-prison with the post-incarceration employment. Effective crime policies must be used to fracture the corridor of violence in The Bahamas. While there is significant policy focus on The Bahamas social policies, it is also important to consider that crime continues to be a focus of concern for policy makers. Making the reduction of drug and gang related violence the country’s most important policy priority is crucial. It's evident socio-economic approaches are important for addressing some root causes of crime and that it shouldn't be divorced from the political solution.

There must be a cohesive solution to addressing youth violence. Analyzing the solution to youth and juvenile violence must begin with improving the quality education and introducing harsher punishment to deter potential offenders. Our prison have become ，a breeding grounds for hardened criminals. Essentially we have to prioritize our resources on the most violent gangs or focus our efforts in a particular geographic location. The round-‘em-up-lock-‘em-up crime policy is significantly ineffective. The law enforcement and prosecutors must work jointly to eradicate the strength of lawyers that makes criminals believe that they are above the law. Center the crime policy on suppressing common crimes to restore a bond with the community to develop accessibility to better intelligence.

Illicit Economies and the violence surrounding them are destructive to our national fabric and threaten our livelihood. It's necessary that our political, social, and economic territory has laws consistent with the needs of our people. The most dangerous criminals should be targeted first to restore stability in our neighborhoods. We have to examine aspects of the country where violence is reducing or none existent, reinforce the safety dynamics, strengthening law enforcement and the rule of law to mitigate the circumstance of violence spreading. Continue with the intensification of policing reforms by responding and reducing corruption, acquiring proactive policing strategies, and develop the skills of the law enforcement agencies.

We have to proceed with the rule of law in our country, along with social and economic development to prevent further violence. Solving our crime problems starts with promoting early child development, supporting disadvantaged youth, building skills, and improving the safety net for vulnerable Bahamians.

Latrae Rahming,
CEO of Bahamaren "Chinese Consultancy Firm
University of International Business and Economics ( Beijing, China)  Student Government President"