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The College of The Bahamas :: Oakes Field :: P.O. Box N-4912 :: Nassau, The Bahamas
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COB to Present New Research on Violence
Findings on Economic and Social Influences
20 October 2011
Faculty at The College of The Bahamas are preparing to release new research on violence in The Bahamas, as the contentious national debate about the level of serious crime continues to rage both inside and outside the halls of Parliament.
With the homicide count reaching record triple digits and crimes against the person on the rise, national security officials and policy makers have acknowledged that The Bahamas is confronted with an intolerable level of violent crime.
The research on various aspects of violence compiled over the last 18 months reveals a range of compelling facts including how domestic violence spawns subsequent violent behaviour in children; the link between GDP levels and crime and the extent to which the Bahamian citizenry is armed. In an unprecedented coordinated effort designed to bring the Bahamian public and the persons responsible for national policies face to face with the facts about violence, The College has scheduled a Violence Research Symposium at the Performing Arts Centre of the Oakes Field Campus for Thursday, November 3rd 2011. Coincidentally, that date is the final day of the national firearm amnesty where citizens are being allowed to turn illegal firearms in to the authorities without sustaining legal penalties.
"It is anticipated that the research findings will contribute to national development by allowing an informed debate on issues surrounding crime," explained William Fielding, Director of Planning at The College of The Bahamas and one of the organizers of the event. "There is great diversity in the [research], and the goal is to compile a great research source for the future."
In all, nine different studies will be presented including the latest profile of inmates at Her Majesty's Prison, an extraordinary effort that required a considerable amount of time gathering data from perpetrators of crime. According to the research team that includes School of Social Sciences faculty Jessica Minnis, E'Thegra Symonette, Michael Stevenson and Tonya Gibson, the study makes no claims regarding the causes of crime in The Bahamas, but rather presents baseline data that could be used in future research.
"In this regard, the study presents profile data relating to the inmates' demographic background, education, employment history, health, illegal substance use, criminal history, perceptions on the effects of incarceration on their families and themselves, self-perceptions regarding criminal identity and fears or concerns relating to their re-entry into society," states the research abstract. "The present inmate profile study provides data that may be used to enhance, modify or establish national security intervention strategies."
Calls for appropriate and effective intervention and prevention strategies are at the centre of the collective public outcry over violent crime and the continuing debate in the House of Assembly on a compendium of anti-crime bills. These kinds of research findings are especially useful in crafting public policies to address crime and violence.
The Symposium will also provide the platform for an informed discussion on the issue of restorative justice as faculty from the University of the Highlands and Islands, Rebecca M. Wallace and Karen Wylie, present the results of their investigations into how this approach has impacted the prison setting in the United Kingdom. They intend to discuss the role and compatibility of restorative programmes within prisons, and how to engage with those incarcerated. The team has also completed an initial assessment of the possibility of instilling a restorative ethos within Her Majesty's Prison.
In another research study, Assistant Professor in the School of Mathematics, Physics and Technology, Yan Lyansky, compared unemployment, GDP (Gross Domestic Product), and population to the violent crime rate in order to find the best predictors of violent crime with implications for government policies.
According to Dr. Lyansky, "These findings show the dependence of social welfare on the ability of policy makers to promote economic growth. As the population increases, the need for a national economic development plan becomes more urgent if The Bahamas is to implement strategies to create wealth and so protect society from increased violence."
During the recent debate in the House of Assembly on Wednesday, October 19th, the Minister of National Security, Hon. Tommy Turnquest revealed a 44%, 29% and 38% increase in murder, attempted murder and rape respectively between January and October 11th this year compared to the same period in 2010. Minister Turnquest also bemoaned what he called one of the striking features of the crime problem in The Bahamas – the anti-social behaviour and criminal acts of our young people.
The full range of research projects completed by COB faculty includes the following:
- Profile Of Inmates At HM Fox Hill Prison
- Violence On The Street: The Impact Of Violence On Public Attendance At Junkanoo
- Rearing Violence In The Bahamas
- Framing Violence: A Content/Discourse Analysis Of Representations Of Violence In The Bahamian Newspapers
- Sound And Fury: Newspaper Coverage Of The Marital Rape Debate In The Bahamas
- Guns In The Bahamas
- The Inside View: Offenders' Perspectives On Restorative Approaches
- Violence In The Bahamas And The Caribbean Region - A Bibliography
- Modeling Violent Crime In The Bahamas
For more information on research abstracts and the symposium agenda, log onto: http://www.cob.edu.bs/Research/ViolenceSymposium/ .
Office of Communication
Tel: 302-4304
Email:communication@cob.edu.bs
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The College of The Bahamas
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