National

2022 Murder & Crime Stats

NASSAU, BAHAMAS – While the murder count has broken last year’s record, the police commissioner and his team of officers say the clamp down on crime will not end in 2022 as they will continue the crime fight.

Published

1 year ago

December 31, 2022

Megan Shepherd

NASSAU, BAHAMAS – The year 2022 got off to a bloody start.

In January, the murder of 21-year-old Heavenly Terveus made headlines as it revealed she was killed by her fiancé who took his own life after the brutal crime, leaving their infant son without parents and her family and friends devastated.

Heavenly’s murder was the second incident where a woman lost her life to gun violence in less than a week. Days before a woman was shot walking into church for a prayer meeting.

The month of March was particularly bloody, recording nearly two dozen murders.

As murders and other crimes spiked, that same month, Prime Minister Philip Davis convened a crime conclave that was attended by law enforcement, community leaders and even members of the Opposition.

But the bloodshed increased.

A late-night shooting in July, killed four-year-old Kenton Seymour as he was heading for ice cream with his family; a stray bullet shattered the glass of the car, hitting the toddler.

Then there was the murder of Omar Davis Jr. – a young man whose story was as one of tragedy to triumph. The partially decomposed body of the recent college graduate was discovered in the trunk of a black Honda Fit in August.

As the bloodshed continued, the Royal Bahamas Police Force experienced a change in command.

In the summer, the baton of leadership was passed on from Paul Rolle to current Commissioner of Police, Clayton Fernander.

One of his first orders of business was creating a cease-fire unit within the RBPF due to the rapid rise in homicides.

While the murder count has broken last year’s record, the police commissioner and his team of officers say the clamp down on crime will not end in 2022 as they will continue the crime fight.