A STAGGERING 224 reports of rape were made to the police at the end of September, representing a 19% increase in the crime, the police disclosed on Tuesday. Police here have struggled to secure convictions against rapists over the years. In its periodic crime statistics update, the Guyana Police Force said that there has been an increase of 19% in the number of reports of rape, with 224 reports at the end of September this year compared to 188 for the same period last year.
Meanwhile, the GPF stated that there has been a 10 percent increase in serious crimes. The force looks at offences such as murders, robbery under arms, robbery with violence, robbery with aggravation, larceny from the person, break and enter, larceny, burglary, rape and kidnapping. While at the end of September last year 109 murders were recorded, 2015 saw a five percent increase with 114 murders at the end of September. In addition, police unfortunately recorded an additional three murders as of October 12, 2015. The Guyana Police’s press statement confirmed that the offence of robbery under arms had an overall increase of three percent this year compared to last year. While there was a decrease of one percent in the number of armed robberies where the use of instruments other than a firearm was the choice for perpetrators, a four percent increase was recorded for armed robberies involving the use of firearms.
It was also reported that break and enter and larceny as well as burglary has seen an overall increase of 14 percent, while at the end of September, the police have been able to recover 89 illegal firearms inclusive or 1 submachine gun, 47 pistols, 24 revolvers, 10 shotguns, 6 rifles and I pen gun. Those guns were recovered as part of the ongoing amnesty programme, which ends today. The recoveries are compared to the 60 illegal firearms which were recovered unto the corresponding period for 2014.
On the issue of traffic enforcement, police records are showing 90 fatal accident which is up from the 76 accidents recorded at the end of September 2015 compared to 101 fatalities from 93 accidents for the same period in 2014. According to the police, they have recorded a decrease in serious and minor categories of road accidents and a 6% increase in damage accidents.
Pedestrians have been the main category of road users affected in road fatalities with thirteen of them having lost their lives at the end of September 2015. Additionally, eight pedal cyclists and twenty three persons in motor vehicles, 13 motor cyclists, 11 drivers, three pillion riders and one person who were being towed on a bicycle also lost their lives. Speeding has been the major contributory factor to fatal accidents, having been the cause of 36 of the 76 fatal accidents unto September 2015. Traffic enforcement by the police has resulted in a total of 43,071 cases for this year being made against errant motorists at the end of September 2015; of this total 17,582 cases were for speeding, 1,666 for driving under the influence of alcohol, 489 for using cell phone while driving and 1,156 for failing to wear seat belt, the Guyana Police Force added.