HAMILTON, Bermuda, CMC – National Security Minister Wayne Caines says gun related crimes declined by nearly 45 per cent in 2018.
Caines, releasing the official figures on crime here, said that there were 27 incidents last year which involved a firearm, were believed to involve a firearm, or where a firearm was recovered.
He said the corresponding figure for 2017 was 49, and in 2016 it was 82.
According to the figures, Bermuda recorded three firearms-related fatalities and injuries last year, down from nine in 2017 and 14 in 2016. Last year four people were murdered here.
Serious assaults also showed a drop at 32 last year — down from 37 in 2017 and 46 in 2016. Arrests for violent crime were up to 24 in 2018, from 22 in each of the two previous years. The figures were included in an update on anti-gang initiatives.
Caines said that the government had devised a “thorough, multi-pronged and disciplined plan” to tackle gang violence in Bermuda.
“I have complete confidence in its success. We are steadfast in our belief, that if we are to see an end to violence in Bermuda, our community must rise and play a part in the process. Let’s stop assigning blame and start working together to change the lives of our most vulnerable citizens,” Caines added.
