Serious crimes jump by 9% – Police

– 300 reports of rape; 133 murders; 112 fatalities

The Guyana Police Force on Monday admitted serious crimes have increased by 9 per cent.
In a statement issued by Police, it is stated that serious crimes increased by 9 percent at the end of November 2015 when compared to the corresponding period in 2014.
Among the serious crimes policed by the force are murder, robbery under arms, robbery with violence, robbery with aggravation, larceny from the person, break and enter and larceny, burglary, rape, and kidnapping.
A total of 133 murders were recorded at the end of November 2015 in comparison to 130 at the end of November 2014, an increase of two per cent.
Of the 133 murders, a whopping 53 were as a result of disorderly behavior; 22 were committed during robberies; 20 as a result of domestic issues; 10 were execution style killing, 27 are yet to be determined, and one comes under ‘other’.
In addition, the report further revealed that 46 murders were committed in A Division while 23 were done in F Division; 21 apiece for B and C Divisions followed  by 8 each in D and G Divisions and six in E Division.
The police also stated that at the end of November 2015, robbery under arms overall has increased by four per cent in comparison to the same period in 2014.
The statistics also indicated an increase of 6 per cent in the armed robberies involving the use of firearms; while the figures are almost similar in relation to the number of armed robberies where instruments other than firearms were used by the perpetrators.
Also, the police recorded 26 per cent increase in reports of rape, with 300 reports at the end of November this year compared to 238 for the same period last year. Break and Enter and Larceny and Burglary have shown an overall increase of 11 per cent.
At end of November this year, a total of 103 illegal firearms have been recovered by the police comprising 1 sub-machine gun, 56 pistols, 28 revolvers, 11 shotguns, 6 rifles and 1 pen-gun.
This compares to a total of 81 that were recovered unto this time last year.
Meanwhile, in relation to traffic, the Guyana Police Force have recorded 112 road fatalities from 95 accidents at the end of November 2015 when compared to 130 fatalities from 121 accidents for the same period in 2014, a decrease of 21 per cent.
Pedestrians has been the main category of road users affected in road fatalities with 40 such persons having lost their lives at the end of November 2015. In addition 11 pedal cyclists, 28 in vehicles, 15 motor cyclists, 14 drivers, three pillion riders and one pillion rider on a bicycle also lost their lives.
Speeding has been the major contributory factor of fatal accidents, having been the cause of 43 of the 95 fatal accidents.
However, traffic enforcement by the police has resulted in a total of 50,715 cases for this year being made against errant motorists at the end of November.
Of this total, 21,576 cases were for speeding, 2206 for driving under the influence of alcohol, 1156 for using cell phone while driving and 2046 for failing to wear seat belt.
Up to Sunday last, a total of four more persons lost their lives from 4 fatal accidents for the month of December.