First let me express my deep condolences to the family of young Devon Arthur Knowles Jr., a young boy that by all media description was brutally and savagely sodomized and then murdered by someone that can only be described as a monster. What's going on in this small country of ours, when parents cant send their kids to school or to the park without fear of them being abducted and murdered? I can only say lets put aside politics, religion, and opinion and pray to God (whomever he may be to each of you), or if you dont believe in a higher power, wish in your heart that this is not a repeat of the events in Freeport. At this point I pray and hope with all my might that the perpertrators of this vicious and sadistic crime be brought to swift and unmerciful justice. God bless the Bahamas :bahamas:

This is truely sad, hopefully they will find the all 3 alive. When the kids went missing in Freeport, I noticed even back then, all over Nassau, you see little kids walking all over the Streets of Nassau, all the time, no parents or adults. Why would anyone let their chilld 'walk' on the Streets of Nassau, it doesnt make sense, even I dont walk on the Streets of Nassau. Add to that the parents that drive around with their kids in their car without a child seat.

Do parents think Nassau is really that safe, do they know something most of us others do not know! I myself live behind bars, alarms, cameras, and any weapon I can legally carry, watch my back everywhere i go which includes out my front door to my car, and when I come home, same again. I dont walk on the streets, and dont go anywhere I dont have to unlesss it is work related. Some call it living in fear, I call it survival.

I hope they find the kids alive, god be with them and their family. Even myself, not a big born again christian or anything, I will pray for them tonight, because I still believe in good over evil, and I believe in god, regardless of religion.

First let me express my deep condolences to the family of young Devon Arthur Knowles Jr., a young boy that by all media description was brutally and savagely sodomized and then murdered by someone that can only be described as a monster. What's going on in this small country of ours, when parents cant send their kids to school or to the park without fear of them being abducted and murdered? I can only say lets put aside politics, religion, and opinion and pray to God (whomever he may be to each of you), or if you dont believe in a higher power, wish in your heart that this is not a repeat of the events in Freeport. At this point I pray and hope with all my might that the perpertrators of this vicious and sadistic crime be brought to swift and unmerciful justice. God bless the Bahamas :bahamas:

We are going "nuts!" That is what is happening in our country. Our greed for money and pleasure is growing unchecked!

I doubt there is much we can do about it except brace for more of the same. Because the only way to stop it is for everyone to look out for each other. But we will not do that as we are all to "busy" doing our thing. (A common occurrence in this modern world.)

.......I myself live behind bars, alarms, cameras, and any weapon I can legally carry, watch my back everywhere i go which includes out my front door to my car, and when I come home, same again. I dont walk on the streets, and dont go anywhere I dont have to unlesss it is work related. Some call it living in fear, I call it survival.....

Rory! The way you describe it, you sound like you are in a War Zone! I know Nassau has its problems but why do you feel it is so bad in your case? You call it survival. To me is sounds like one H*** of a sad way to live! Perhaps, it is the nature of your work that you see more of the bad side than the rest of us. But life out there is not as bad as you think.

I have no bars on my house, no cameras - I do have an alarm system. I have a dog, not for protection, I just like the dog. I have a licenced Shotgun but I keep it locked in the cupboard, unless it is "needed!" I walk the streets (for exercise!) My wife and I go out for dinner - often. We visit friends, we go to the beach. We sit in the garden and have a few beers. We are not intimidated by the few bad apples out there.

Having said all that, I can say we have had a few problems (thirteen of them) but nothing we could not handle - and that is the thing! One needs to know how to handle trouble, to know what trouble really looks like AND to know when there is no danger. There is a great difference between caution and paranoia.

I used to teach a course on this subject. I have not done so in sometime but when I did I heard many stories of the bad side of life here too, but one cannot dwell on that. I live my life by the maxim. "A life, spend in the fear of losing, it is not spent at all."

Rory! The way you describe it, you sound like you are in a War Zone! I know Nassau has its problems but why do you feel it is so bad in your case? You call it survival. To me is sounds like one H*** of a sad way to live! Perhaps, it is the nature of your work that you see more of the bad side than the rest of us. But life out there is not as bad as you think.

I have no bars on my house, no cameras - I do have an alarm system. I have a dog, not for protection, I just like the dog. I have a licenced Shotgun but I keep it locked in the cupboard, unless it is "needed!" I walk the streets (for exercise!) My wife and I go out for dinner - often. We visit friends, we go to the beach. We sit in the garden and have a few beers. We are not intimidated by the few bad apples out there.

Having said all that, I can say we have had a few problems (thirteen of them) but nothing we could not handle - and that is the thing! One needs to know how to handle trouble, to know what trouble really looks like AND to know when there is no danger. There is a great difference between caution and paranoia.

I used to teach a course on this subject. I have not done so in sometime but when I did I heard many stories of the bad side of life here too, but one cannot dwell on that. I live my life by the maxim. "A life, spend in the fear of losing, it is not spent at all."

Glad nothing serious has happened to you yet, you have been lucky. Nassau is in reality a war zone, between good and evil, citizens and criminals. Yes I may have seen more since the industry I was in over the past serveral years, but if you add up the amount of people out of 300,000 of us that have had attacks, robberies or rapes, it is gigantic. When just about everyone you know has had either a break in, attack, or some form of confrontation with criminals, it is not good. Nassau is a very unsafe island/city, there is no way around it. I could post all the info about actual events that i know of, then there are much I dont know because the police do not publish it, and I will only anger the people here that believe, for some unknown reason, that Nassau is Paradise.

I couldnt believe the amount of crime and how unsafe it was here, when I got back from living in NY. Ofcourse I didnt live in Harlem, Queens or Brooklyn, so you see a ghetto is a ghetto, no matter the country. Nassau is the bahamas' ghetto, and we have a huge crime rate here.

See, I dont like confrontation, but if I am, I fight to the death, so far hasnt gone that far. Thats my biggest fear, defending myself when I get robbed here or on the street, because they wont get my money, but I will take them out by whatever means available, its you or them in this society. Thing is, legally you cant defend yourself, if you do and the person gets injured, or dead while doing so, you go to jail. You cant even mace someone, as it is illegal here, even if that person has a gun or another weapon. If you do, you are told by the law enforcement to drag them inside your home, or make sure they are inside your home! IF they would pass proper laws that coincide with the amount of crime here, then we could properly defend ourselves. Because no bars, no alarm, nothing is going to stop the criminal who really wants to get to you or your family, or get inside your home.

Personally, I have been robbed at gunpoint about 6 times, ganged twice for no reason (other than I am white and they made sure I knew that was why), kidnapped twice (first time just robbed and left on the side of the road, second time they said they were killing a white boy tonight, jumped out the car doing 70mph, got bashed up, they ran me over twice but I dragged myself into an appartment complex and got away), more recently was attacked with home made axes, chased up the street, no one would stop to help, everyone just kept driving by, finally fought them off and they took my vehicle, and called the police.

Only people you CAN depend on to help you is the police on this island, so make sure you know that, walking down the street during rush hour or not, most bahamians wont turn an eye if you are getting attacked or robbed. If you would, then you are one of the few brave ones.

Now, not to mention just about everyone I know has been robbed, or attacked, and this includes regular business people. Some in their own home or yard. The criminal today here does not discriminate, race, religion or gender, they rob and or attack anyone they can. I imagine most of this is due mostly to drugs and gangs, and the poor legal system we have here that releases most of them after less than a year in jail. In a couple cases where I was attacked, they made a point of saying they just got out of jail and wernt afraid to go back, this has been echoed in many of the times I had to install security for people after a crime had taken place.

Its not paranoia, its being safe, knowing what is out there and what can happen, and what does happen daily to many bahamians in Nassau, so when it does, you know how to react. Maybe I have a Bullseye on my head, but I dount it, as its not just me. You say you have had 13 incidents, well, you shouldnt have had any at all. Sure anything can happen anywhere.

Also, rarely Bars, Security screens, metal doors, actually stop a criminal, they use crow bars, they come equiped with blow torches, or just kick through the security screen. And an alarm is only good enough to tell you someone is coming in to rob you. A propery recorded video camera gets a image of the criminal for easy identification for future prosecution. Law enforcment can normally tell a criminals identity from a photo as there are so many repeat criminals.

If you say the wrong thing to a Bahamian (alot, not all), or what they concieve as the wrong thing, you see the end of a machet, rock, bottle, those are the normal choices and concidered normal, then there is the gun which is becoming even more common now adays by druggies or gang youth.

Wow! Rory! That is terrible! What is it about you that attracts such violence? I mean that with all due respect. It sounds like you attract more attacks than most folks. Do you have any ideas why that happens?

You wrote, "Glad nothing serious has happened to you yet, you have been lucky." Thanks for that! But I guess "serious" is a relative term and "luck" has nothing to do with it. It is knowing what to do, and when to do it and when not to do it, it that counts.

Does anyone else believe Nassau is a War Zone?

so you think Nassau is safe??

Unfortunately, ZNS, newspapers, and the Police do not tell you everything that happens here, thats why if some people go by without incedent, they continue to think that everything is OK, until it happens and its too late. Almost every crime takes place because people dont think it can happen here, or happen to them for that matter. Being a christian nation does not exempt us from drugs, alchohol and the criminals it produces.

Ofcourse, it is no way as bad as iraq or even haiti.

1. We need to implement some alert system in this country quick or we can have a repeat of last year.

2. We a street light curfew for kids under 18.

3. We need public a sex offender list.

If anyone has more to add please do.

Remember that this is a site of solutions.

4. Parents that allow their young kids to beg and roam on the streets, etc, need to get fines

5. The legal system needs to be revamped as it doesnt work.

6. Community Watch Programs

7. Better Public Transport Systems so young kids dont have to walk the streets

8. Proper school bus systems

9. Any young kids walking home from school should be picked up by the police and the parents fined.

10. Something like the US Americas Most Wanted - The Bahamas' Most Wanted.

so you think Nassau is safe??

Not as bad as Bagdad - not as good as heaven. It's about in the middle.

11. Beef up the department of Social Services.

12. All of us! Keep our eyes open. Report anything that strikes you as "odd." In the long run we, the people, are the watch dogs of this society. Bad Guys will do whatever we allow them to get away with.

When the body of that young man was found, we were told that it was in an advance state of decomposition. How much did he weigh? 40 lbs? 50 lbs? To put it crudely, that amount of decaying flesh gives of a strong and distinctive odor. I am sure that many people smelled it but said nothing. Perhaps they were too busy with their lives to worry about it.

13. Parenting classes! There are large number of parents who do not know how to bring up a child, and keep it safe. They don't know because their folks did not know and could not teach them. The ignorance is being passed down unbroken.

I can identify with so much of what Rory has said. Like him, I really believe crime in Nassau is really terrible. I almost cried when he mentioned some of the things he has suffered.

I was bodily robbed once by thugs, my house was broken into about 7 or 8 times -- once, twice within one week! Sometimes I wonder whether enough of us really care! This thing has been creeping up on us for at least 30 years, and it just seems that not enough has been done to really tackle it.

The Gomez Report and the other report just seem to have been shelved and not implemented; as if they was just some window dressing or playing with our minds to make us feel something is being done!

The thieves are so bold, they are committing crimes in broad daylight. When CG described his social activities, I was wondering if he lives on this island! Must be a kind of crime-free area, which I thought did not exist in Nassau anymore.

On December 18, 2003, I started a thread entitled Crime -- the Monster Within. To my surprise, only 2 other persons posted to it!

I believe, regarding the over-the-hill area where I live, many of the people are afraid of reporting crimes. And one thing for sure what Rory said I believe is 100% correct is that the police do not report some crimes. I remember talking to a programmer who was doing some work on the police computer some years ago. He casually picked up a printout and read some serious crimes on it which he never saw in the news papers. Upon asking an officer about why those crimes were not reported, he said he was told that reporting them would frighten the tourists and the public!

I just hope and pray that some day soon we would be able to reduce or eliminate crimes.

i dont even read the papers anymore, I cant believe anything they do post about crime. The last time I was attacked, it was in the paper, that I had been 'pushed down and some money stolen', that was it! No mention of the truth at all, I even went down to the Tribune and demanded they change their story as it made me look like an idiot, but they never did. How could 2 little crackheads, half my size and weight, push me down, neber happened like that at all, some serious weapons were involved.

But another thing, I was told that their are not enough police or police cars in nassau to handle all the 911 calls that are placed every day, that would be why sometimes you never see a police after dialing 911, the 911 operator determines what is more important than the other, and sends the police accordingly. This goes with alarm monitoring also, thats where I got the info from actually. This is probably why we are seeing police driving in cheap slow little japenese cars now, as the money is not there to provide them with real police cars, but they need some form of transportation, so they are doing their best to get out there and fight crime, the population, communities, and others need to help more.

.....When CG described his social activities, I was wondering if he lives on this island! Must be a kind of crime-free area, which I thought did not exist in Nassau anymore.

No, I live in Nassau, the Eastern end. I walk on Montagu Beach (almost every morning.) I practice Buddhist Meditation there to. I have been "attacked" there twice. Once while I was meditating a guy tried to sneak up on me from behind. A handful of sand in his eyes and a sharp blow to the groin soon changed his mind. If you wonder how I could see him behind me (as I am sure he did) then you have never meditated!

I am not discounting Rory's or your fears. Crime is real. But one must acquire the skills needed to be safe and to defend oneself. One must teach their kids the same skills. One must develop a "quietness of mind" that allows one to live in the middle of chaos. One must learn how not to be a target.

As for reporting crime to the Police, my advice is ALWAYS do it, here is why. The police keep a list of crimes and where they happen. If they get no reports from an area they cut down on patrols in that area and put men where the crimes are. You may have 50 unreported crimes in your area and I might have 5 reported crimes in my area. The police will patrol my area more often because, as far as your area is concerned, there is no crime! ALWAYS report the crime, no matter how small. I have the local police station's number on speed dial on all my phones! I use it! They respond!

I will look for your thread, Crime -- the Monster Within and post there if there is something I can add. By the way under what category is it listed?