Police report 15 per cent drop in crime

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The police are reporting a reduction in almost all categories of criminal offences, except murder, attempted murder, rape and incest which they say are of concern to them despite a high solve rate.

According to the official 2016 crime statistics released by the police yesterday, lawmen received 15.3 per cent less reports of crime than they did in 2015.

“At the end of 2016, the total number of cases reported stood at 2,468, almost 500 cases less than what was reported in 2015. In 2015 the total figure was 2,915,” the report noted.

On the issue of serious crime, lawmen noted that last year there were eight murders in comparison to five in 2015 and three cases of attempted murder in 2016, up from one in 2015.

Unlawful Sexual Intercourse (sex with girls under 16 years) rose from 13 in 2015 to 21 in 2016; cases of incest increased from two in 2015 to four in 2016. There were arrests for most of the sex crimes reported to police.

With respect to murders, police spokesman Senior Sergeant Frankie Thomas noted that arrests were made in six of the eight cases. The police statistics did not include the December 25, 2016 (Christmas Day) shooting of Alba “Bumba” Coates since he died on January 3, 2017.

The killings ranged from three shootings, two domestic dispute stabbings, a chopping, a beheading and one case of blunt force with an object. The victims were Luciene Glennex Brodie, businessman Mazem Daher, Tyrone “Yankee” Lewis, Joseph “Juba” James, Elvis Daisy, Shareice Henry, Caleb Samuel and Judith Browne.

More in today’s Daily Observer.

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