Murders in The Bahamas down 30% in 2025

Murders in The Bahamas are down by about 30 per cent so far in 2025 compared with last year, according to figures released by Wayne Munroe, Minister of National Security.

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Munroe told The Nassau Guardian that as of yesterday, 83 murders had been recorded for 2025. This compares with 120 murders in 2024. Despite the significant reduction, Munroe said he remains dissatisfied with the country’s level of violent crime.

“I’m still not satisfied with the numbers,” Munroe said when contacted. “There’s still too much violent crime. Bearing in mind, I’m 57, and I remember what it was like when I was a child.

“To see it get to this over that period is what isn’t encouraging, even though the numbers are trending in the right direction. So I’ll never be happy with 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60 Bahamians being murdered. I could never be satisfied with that.”

Last year’s murder total stood at 120, while 110 murders were recorded in 2023. The only recent year with a lower figure was 2020, when 73 murders were recorded amid months of strict lockdowns and curfews implemented to contain the spread of COVID-19.

Munroe credited the decline to crime-fighting measures under the Davis administration’s five-pillar crime plan, which focuses on prevention, policing, prosecution, punishment and rehabilitation.

He said the strategy includes community policing and intervention programmes, increased police manpower, enhanced technology and equipment for the force, efforts to reduce court backlogs and speed up judicial processes, and expanded rehabilitation initiatives for offenders.

The minister also pointed to continued investment in prevention, including community centres and youth programmes. On policing, he highlighted the recruitment of additional officers as well as spending on vehicles and technology.

Munroe further noted that legislative changes may be contributing to the decline in murders.

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“We did some work with the courts in terms of the judge-alone trial, in terms of the Bail Amendment Bill that may be bearing some fruit,” he said. “You would remember a lot of the persons who were murdered used to be people on bail. I think that number has fallen.”

He also referenced anti-gang legislation that increased penalties for gang-related activity, although no charges had been laid under that law as of the last report.

On rehabilitation, Munroe said work is ongoing on a new juvenile facility and a new women’s facility, along with initiatives such as a “grow your child” programme and efforts to allow inmates to work and earn income prior to their release.