Just over 50% of the 582 reported domestic violence cases in Berbice made it to court, where there were only 17 convictions for the year up to last Friday, according to police, who say they are concerned about the situation.
This disclosure was made by Assistant Commissioner of Police Balram Persaud on Wednesday during a community outreach at the Black Bush Polder Secondary School.
Persaud told residents that strict orders have been given to law enforcement officers on how to deal with domestic violence in Berbice, although he did not go into detail about them.
He did, however, note the police force’s alarm over the domestic violence trends in the division. “This is a cause for concern. The police are very concerned about this and this Division has been given strict orders on how to deal with domestic violence and what the outcomes should be,” he pointed out.
Persaud reported that the statistics for the period January 1st to November 13th, 2015 show that there were 582 reports in ‘B’ Division, compared with 585 reports last year. Although ‘A’ Division (Georgetown) had a higher number of reported cases—pegged at 612 in 2015, and 624 in 2014—the smaller population in ‘B’ Division means the crime is more pervasive there.
He said in all the other divisions, there has been a significant decrease in reported cases, except for ‘G’ Division, which has seen a drastic increase from 151 cases in 2014 to 211 this year.
However, homing in on convictions in domestic violence cases that go to court, Persaud said the state of affairs is unsatisfactory.
He noted that for the 585 reports last year, 505 went to court and 19 convictions were secured. For this year, of 582 reports received, only 326 reached court, where there were only 17 convictions.
Addressing Black Bush Polder specifically, he said there has been a significant increase in domestic violence recorded in 2015. Last year, there had been 10 reports, five of which made it to the court although no conviction was secured. This year, there have been 15 reports, 12 of which made it to court, where there were seven convictions.
According to Persaud, in too many instances the perpetrator is let go when reports are made. He said too that on many occasions the victims refuse to give statements to the police or to testify in the court against the perpetrator and he noted that this too needs to stop.
Meanwhile, Persaud announced during his report that criminal activities have been reduced in their communities by 13%, although Black Bush Polder has record a 26% increase of armed robbery and burglary for the year.
Persaud also said that in the days to come the police force would be beefing up the manpower at the Mibicuri Police station.
Residents had complained bitterly of the poor human resources at the station. Before the year is out, two police vehicles are to be given to the station to boost its capacity to respond to calls to serve and protect the communities within the Black Bush Polder. The station would also undergo major rehabilitation works. It is currently in a very poor condition, with broken windows and dilapidated interior facilities.
The police officials at the outreach also pledged their support in aiding the rehabilitation of a community centre ground and to host a gymkhana to bridge the gap between the police and the community.
Others present at the outreach were psychiatrist Dr Bhiro Harry, substance abuse specialist Caitlin Vieira and religious leaders attached to the Cops and Faith Community Net-work.
Harry spoke on the importance of family togetherness and the importance of mental health, while Vieira spoke on the hazards of alcohol and drug use.
