THE Guyana Police Force (GPF) reported Friday that there has been an overall decrease, of one percent, in serious crimes recorded at the end of May, in comparison to the same 2012 period.

The statistics indicated that the total number of reports of serious crimes made between January 1 and May 31, was 1,604 compared to 1,621 for the comparable time in 2012.
Some of the offences monitored are murder, robbery under arms, robbery with violence, larceny from the person, break and enter and larceny, burglary, rape and kidnapping.
The GPF said 51 murders were recorded at the end of May 2013, the same as in 2012. Of those committed this year, 23 were of the disorderly type, nine were in the course of armed robberies, one was execution type, four were domestic related and the other 14 are, so far, of an undetermined category.
At the end of May 2013, the number of robberies under arms had reduced by 14 percent, with 372 reports as against 432 in 2012, showing a decline of 11 percent involving the use of guns and 19 percent less where other weapons were used by the perpetrators.

ROAD FATALITIES
Meanwhile, in relation to traffic, road fatalities rose by 10 at the end of May 2013 in comparison to 2012, with 46 from 43 accidents, more than the 36 from 35 accidents in 2012.
January 1 to May 31, 2013, also saw reductions in the other categories of traffic accidents, described as serious, minor and damage.
So far, pedestrians have been the main road users affected, 11 of whom had lost their lives by the end of May 2013. In addition, nine motorcyclists, nine pedal cyclists, seven drivers and nine passengers of motor vehicles and one pillion rider also died.
The police said speeding continues to be a major contributing factor to fatal accidents and was the cause of 35 of the 43 that occurred at the end of May 2013.
However, police traffic enforcement during January to May resulted in 35,843 cases being made against errant motorists, 9,196 for speeding.
Two road fatalities from two accidents have been recorded for the month of June 2013, up to yesterday.