Officials in the Bahamas are grappling with a worrying rise in violent crime that they fear could hurt tourism, a vital industry in the Caribbean archipelago.
Last month, the U.S. State Department issued a travel advisory citing a spike in killings in January and warning that killings occurred at all times of day, including on the streets in broad daylight.
At the time of the alarm, the country with just 400,000 inhabitants had registered 18 murders in 2024. Since then the number has increased to 25. None of the murder victims were foreigners.
Then, earlier this month, two Kentucky mothers came forward with allegations that they were raped by staff at the Pirate's Cove Beach Resort in Grand Bahama after being given “spiced” cocktails during a shore excursion on their Carnival cruise.
And just this week, the family of an 80-year-old Canadian woman suffering from Alzheimer's went public with allegations that she was raped by another tourist at the Warwick Hotel on Paradise Island.
Officials in the Bahamas are grappling with a worrying rise in violent crime that they fear could hurt tourism, a vital industry in the Caribbean archipelago
Investigators investigate the crime scene of a recent murder in the Bahamas. The archipelago of 400,000 people has recorded 25 murders this year, a significant increase from historical norms
For Bahamian residents, the concerns about rising crime are twofold: Not only is the violence affecting their own quality of life, but it also threatens to disrupt the tourism industry that drives the country's economy.
Earlier this week, Bahamian Prime Minister Philip Davis drew criticism after appearing to blame journalists, rather than criminals themselves, for reporting on crime in the country.
“I want to call on the press to be sensitive,” Davis said Monday while addressing religious leaders in New Providence.
“I think they should see their role as helping the country. “I'm not saying don't report anything, but if you report it, it can make a difference.”
“Every bullet that's fired seems to be on the front page of all our daily news stories. “And what happens – AP picks it up, Portal picks it up,” he added, referring to international news outlets.
Although Davis also spoke about anti-crime strategies, his targeting of the Bahamian press sparked intense controversy and criticism from local journalists.
“The comments were ill-placed and ill-advised,” Our News anchor Jerome Sawyer told Eyewitness News Bahamas. “When your media is at the scene of a murder in a row, it's suddenly an anomaly and it's our job to sound the alarm.”
On Thursday, Davis defended his comments, emphasizing to reporters: “I'm not trying to censor the media, I'm not a dictator.”
“I'm not trying to censor the media, I'm not a dictator,” Bahamian Prime Minister Philip Davis said after scolding journalists for reporting on rising crime
There are wanted posters for murder suspects wanted by the Bahamian police
The US State Department said in January that “retaliatory gang violence” appeared to be the primary motive for the killings so far this year.
“The majority of crime occurs on the islands of New Providence (Nassau) and Grand Bahama (Freeport),” the State Department’s Bureau of Consular Affairs said in a travel advisory.
“In Nassau, exercise increased vigilance in the Over the Hill area (south of Shirley Street), where gang violence has led to high murder rates, primarily affecting the local community.”
The alert warned tourists not to physically resist any robbery attempt and not to open the front door of a hotel or residence to unknown people.
The number of homicides reported in the archipelago last year is not available, but according to the Royal Bahamas Police Force, the number of homicides rose 8 percent from 2021 to 2022, with 128 murders reported, up from 119.
Although the year is still young, the Bahamas is on track to exceed 190 murders in 2024 if the current rate continues, far exceeding the most recent annual total available.
Local officials say drugs, gangs and poverty are major factors in the violence.
“We're targeting the drug dealers in a lot of these inner-city communities, and we know that's why we have all this crime,” Assistant Police Chief Damien Robinson told ZNS Network in the Bahamas during a recent hour-long crime special .
“It's retaliation by drug-based gangs.” “We know that this is the main reason and that everything that follows is due to this drug problem that we have,” he added.
ACP Anthony Rolle added that poverty was a major factor driving young people into the gang lifestyle.
“The biggest problems in our community are due to socio-economic problems, particularly unemployment,” he said.
“We have a lack of adequate housing.” We have (a lack of) education. We also have a low income. So these impact our communities, the residents of our communities,” Rolle said.
“We're targeting the drug dealers in many of these inner-city communities and we know that's the reason for all this crime,” said Assistant Police Chief Damien Robinson
Although the Bahamas is associated with wealth and luxury, the reality for locals is often completely different.
According to the United Nations Development Program, the poverty rate in the Bahamas was estimated at nearly 15 percent in 2017.
More recent figures show an unemployment rate of 13.24 percent in the island paradise, with the youth unemployment rate (15-24 years old) being almost a third.
Officials say economic desperation is pushing some young people to pursue a life of drug trafficking and gangs, fueling the recent rise in murders.
Tragically for the country, the rise in violent crime now poses a real threat to tourism, which boosts the Bahamian economy and creates thousands of jobs.
Last year, 5.8 million visitors came to the Bahamas in the first seven months of 2023, putting the country on track to record more than 8 million visitors this year.
Tourism accounts for about half of the country's gross domestic product.
Separately, several reports of rapes at luxury resorts in the Bahamas have sparked international headlines, although the circumstances of the cases vary.
Earlier this month, Kentucky mothers Dongayla Dobson and Amber Shearer, both 31, came forward publicly to say they were sexually assaulted during a shore excursion on their Carnival cruise.
The two women, who agreed to be named, said they were drugged with “spiced” cocktails and raped by staff at the Pirate's Cove beach resort in Grand Bahama.
Earlier this month, Kentucky mothers Dongayla Dobson and Amber Shearer, both 31, came forward publicly to say they were sexually assaulted during a shore excursion
In another shocking case, an 80-year-old Canadian grandmother suffering from Alzheimer's disease was kidnapped and raped at the Warwick Hotel Paradise Island Bahamas
The resort angrily denied their claims and local police appeared to cast doubt on the allegations, releasing the suspects after reviewing security footage.
But Ladonna Batty, a family nurse practitioner from Arkansas, confirmed the allegations and described the traumatic scene she witnessed while treating the two women.
Batty told Fox News the two women were injured, partially undressed, vomiting and disoriented and said she had no reason to doubt they had been attacked.
In another shocking case, an 80-year-old Canadian grandmother suffering from Alzheimer's disease was kidnapped and raped at the Warwick Hotel Paradise Island Bahamas on January 28.
Another Canadian, 61-year-old Gordon Wilkie of New Waterford, Nova Scotia, was arrested in the case and charged with rape.
The alleged rapist didn't know the victim but got on the elevator with her and her daughter and kidnapped her as the daughter got off the elevator on her floor, the victim's son told this week.
The mother was missing for about 40 minutes while the daughter and other guests desperately searched for her. Wilkie was arrested and accused of raping her in his hotel room.
The victim's son, David Arhens, praised Bahamian police but said resort staff at the Warwick were completely unhelpful, refusing to help with the search and delaying calling police.
The resort did not respond to a request for comment from .