THE Guyana Police Force (GPF) has said it recorded a total of 20 murders as at the end of February 2013, in comparison to 17 for the same period in 2012.

A release said those statistics marked an 18 percent increase in murders for 2013; and of the 20 unlawful killings, nine were of the disorderly type, five were committed during armed robberies, one was domestic related, and the other five are so far undetermined.
However, the GPF said, the statistics in relation to murders and robberies-under-arms between January 1 and February 28, 2013, when compared with corresponding figures over the same time in 2012, revealed that there has been an overall decrease of three percent in serious crimes this year, in comparison to the last.
The police have added that the total number of reports of serious crimes made between January 1 and February 28, 2013 was 627, while in 2012 it was 646.
The statement said that among the offences monitored are murder, robbery-under-arms, robbery-with-violence, larceny from the person, break-and-enter and larceny, burglary, rape, and kidnapping.
At the end of February 2013, robbery-under-arms had decreased by 15 percent, with 144 reported incidents as against 170 for the comparable time in 2012.
The records indicate a decrease of 18 percent in armed robberies involving the use of firearms, and an 11 percent decrease where instruments other than firearms were used by the perpetrators.