Guyana records 30 murders in 70 days

Going into the last quarter of the year, the Guyana Police Force is facing a worrying increase in criminal activity.
Recent figures released by the police Criminal Investigations Department show that at the end of August, there was a six percent increase in serious crimes in comparison with the corresponding period last year.
The serious crimes include murder, robbery under arms, robbery with violence, larceny from the person, break and enter and larceny, burglary, rape and kidnapping.
Up to the period in question, January 1 to August 31 there were 155 more reports of serious crimes than for the same period last year.
If this trend continues, the figures could rival those of the crime wave years, the police said.
Already there are close to 92 murders recorded so far for the year.
The police figures show that at the end of August, 85 murders were committed, a four percent increase on the 2012 figure.
And with six more murders so far for this month, the situation is a bit worrying.
The figures revealed that there were 31 murders between the beginning of July and present.
Of the 85 murders at the end of August, 35 were of the disorderly type, 14 were committed during armed robberies; 13 were domestic related, while the other 22 are so far undetermined.
Execution style remained static at one up to August month end but this figure has increased with two more such killings within the past 10 days.
Georgetown and its environs continue to lead with the most murders, 27, at the end of August (now 31), followed closely by the Interior, which has recorded 26 murders so far.
Essequibo remains the “safest” region in Guyana in terms of murder, with one recorded so far.
Linden and the surrounding districts are also relatively quiet in terms of murders.
In the area of robbery under arms; at the end of August, there was a three percent increase, with 692 reports compared to 672 for the same period in 2012.
The statistics indicate an increase of 10% in the number of armed robberies involving the use of firearms; and a seven percent decrease in armed robberies where instruments other than firearms were used by the perpetrators.