by Brian Major
Last updated: 4:36 PM ET, Tue December 17, 2013
The Bahamas' successful efforts to promote tourism to the country are being threatened by a recent upsurge in crime, said Obie Wilchcombe, the country's tourism minister, in local press interviews. Wilchcombe's comments follow the release last week of a crime alert by the United States Embassy in Nassau.
The embassy sent an email alerting Americans living in and traveling to the Bahamas to the threat of armed robbery in the country. Last week the Bahamas' deputy prime minister, Philip "Brave" Davis, was robbed at gunpoint in his home.
"As the holiday season nears with its many celebrations, there is, unfortunately, often an increase in criminal activity," said embassy officials in an email cited in the Bahamas Tribune. "The embassy continues to receive reports of crime, particularly armed robberies and burglaries."
"The truth is we have to get control of the situation," said Wilchcombe in a Nassau Guardian interview. "We have gone through a very difficult time as far as tourism is concerned. We're now finding a way out of it."
Ironically the concerns come amidst a slight decrease in crime in the Bahamas. Government statistics tracking the period between Jan. 1, 2013 to July 11, 2013 show a one percent decrease in armed robberies.
There were 571 reported armed robberies in the Bahamas through July 11 in 2012 compared with 566 reported armed robberies reported to date this year.
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