Police Commissioner Seelall Persaud has dismissed suggestions that crime has “spiralled out of control” since the May 11th elections, while saying that statistics don’t support the claims.
During a police force award ceremony on Wednesday, Persaud noted the significant public outcry over the perceived spikes in violent crimes and road fatalities.
According to Persaud, the force noticed increases since February this year and continuously. “So it is not case that it was after the election that we saw increases. It was since February,” he said, before noting that the largest increase seen so far occurred in March. “However what might have fuelled that perception is that there were less numbers but more violence during May and June in that quite a few of the victims of robberies were shot and then we had shot and killed as well…,” he said.
Persaud also emphasised that crime was never out of control. “So, it is easy for our critics to sensationalise and maybe it works towards the end that they want to achieve… what they don’t recognise is that when these high-profile crimes, in particular, make the front pages of the newspaper… we see arrests and prosecution after. So how is it out of control?” he questioned.
With regards to road fatalities, Persaud said statistics actually show a reduction.
In response to concerns over a recent spate of crimes, President David Granger last week convened a high level security meeting to craft a response.
“That strategy will have to be refined to ensure that the country is safe and that the criminals and the criminal underworld and the intellectual authors of criminal activity understand that this government has a very strong resolve to root out crime wherever it exists”, Minister of State Joseph Harmon had told reporters afterward.
Last week, the Guyana Police Force reported that up to the end of June, it had recorded a 9% increase in serious crimes compared to the same period in 2014. The increases include a total of 79 murders recorded at the end of June, 2015, compared with 69 murders at the end of June, 2014, representing an increase of 14%. The force also reported a 74% increase in the number of reports of rape, with 207 reports at the end of June this year compared with 119 for the same period last year. The force did, however, record an overall decrease in armed robbery during the period.
