BAHAMAS COMPUTERS A FAVORITE TARGET OF THIEVES Millions Stolen During 2006 Break-ins:
10th January
Millions Stolen During 2006 Break-ins
By Macushla N. Pinder

Burglary and house and shop break-ins all recorded an increase in 2006 over 2005, a lingering concern for police officials.

Police said shop break-ins soared from 1,318 to 1,377. Meantime, house break-ins increased by eight percent from 2,255 in 2005 to 2,628 last year.

Perpetrators of house break-ins stole more than $1 million worth of items from homes in southwestern New Providence last year, according to police.

Police said the preferred items were building supplies, due to the tremendous growth-taking place in that part of New Providence.

'We had a significant amount of reports coming out of this area centered on the theft of building supplies,' Chief Superintendent Marvin Dames disclosed during the Royal Bahamas Police Force’s annual crime review Monday.

'And based on our examinations of the break-ins for 2006, we saw some $1.2 million worth of stolen items, but these are conservative figures.'

Authorities have pointed out that many house break-ins still occur during school or working hours with the preferred items being DVDs, computers and jewellery.

"We looked at break-ins in the north-eastern area and they recorded some $300,000 in stolen property. When we look at the southern division, that figure was $175,000 and in the southeastern division, the numbers shot up a little to an estimated $250,000," Chief Superintendent Dames disclosed.

"…So, if we were to carefully look at all of the matters, I think it is safe to say that we would be somewhere in the area of millions of dollars (of items beingstolen )…Some people say crime doesn’t pay, but ask the perpetrator because he is certainly making a lot of money," Chief Superintendent Dames said.

"And so certainly we have to rethink our strategy as we move into 2007 because there is a lot of growth and development taking place throughout New Providence and the Family Islands and we have to plan accordingly if we are going to make an appreciable dent in these figures this year."

When officials looked at the culprits behind last year’s house break-ins, they found that 11 of them involved in such crimes in the southern division had been charged multiple times for the same offence.

"This figure is consistent mainly throughout New Providence and certainly the same for Grand Bahama and the Family Islands," Chief Superintendent Dames revealed.

"The Carmichael division had about nine persons previously charged for house breaking matters and other forms of crime. The north-eastern and south-eastern divisions saw five repeat offenders, but these figures can grow if we carefully consider these things in depth."

Police also said reports of stolen vehicles increased by 10 percent from 846 in 2005 to 1,059 in 2006.

According to Chief Superintendent Dames, as of Monday, police had in custody at least eight individuals who allegedly were involved in stealing vehicles.

A group of men was charged before the court on Monday for 22 cases of stolen vehicles.

Police said between 27 percent and 30 percent of the persons charged for stolen vehicles were juveniles.

Of this figure, there were a number of repeat offenders, according to police information.