Minister: Publicity about murder rates hits tourism and business

TUESDAY, NOV. 22: The media should use statistics carefully and consider the broad implications of negative news stories, a Government minister said yesterday.

Tourism and Business Development Minister Wayne Furbert was speaking after The Royal Gazette ran a story, based on UN figures, stating that the island’s murder rate is almost double the global average.

Mr Furbert said: “People know statistics are statistics — Bermuda is probably the highest in everything you can think of in terms of population.”

The paper stands by its story and in the wake of Mr Furbert’s criticism, described it as “relevant and in context”. 

The story reported on its front page that a total of eight people have murdered this year in Bermuda — giving a rate of 12.5 murders per 100,000 people compared to the world average of 6.9 per 100,000 people.

The figures came from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime’s Global Study on Homicide.

Mr Furbert said that the effects of reports of this kind made it more difficult to sell the island to tourists and businesspeople and did not accurately reflect the situation on the ground.

He said: “Our murder rate this year is eight — when you look at other islands, they are significantly higher. When you look at the population rates, we are the highest per capita.”

He added: “I was quite disturbed this morning [Monday] when I read the front page story that the murder rate is double the world average. I had to ask myself ‘why that particular message?’”

Mr Furbert questioned why the story was the lead on page one when it could have been put on an inside page, while National Security Minister Wayne Perinchief’s bid to tackle gangs and gun violence could have been given more prominence.

“Government has been working hard to attract tourists to the island and working hard to attract new business to the island,” Mr Furbert said

But prominent coverage of this kind of story would “convince tourists not to come to here or convince business not to come here”.

Mr Furbert added: “I’m asking the media to be responsible because it affects jobs, it affects the GDP, it affects what we’re trying to do out there.

“All I’m asking the media is that when you’re doing the story, consider the impact it’s having on our island home and our efforts to try and attract tourists and international business.

“Every dollar we’re spending, we now have to spend two or three dollars to convince tourists to come here.”

Royal Gazette Editor Bill Zuill told us: “Mr Furbert is correct that care needs to be taken with per capita statistics in relation to Bermuda.

“But nothing can distort the fact that eight people have been murdered in Bermuda this year and that this is an unacceptably high rate by any measure.