There has been an increase in reports of rape in Region One (Barima-Waini) and this crime is often only reported when it results in pregnancy, according to Police Commander of Region One, Super-intendent Boodnarine Persaud.
Persaud made the disclosure on Tuesday night during his appearance on the Guyana Police Force’s weekly Police and You programme.
“… I am of the opinion… most of these rapes are reported when pregnancy occurs,” Persaud said.
According to the Commander, for the year so far a total of 48 reports were made, compared to 14 for last year.
The majority of these cases, he said, occurs in the Amerindian settlements within the region, with victims being between 12 and 15 years old.
Persaud pointed out that in many of the cases, the police experience difficulties in bringing the perpetrator/s to justice due to the lack of information.
“…. In many cases when pregnancy occurs…when these things are reported… the victims themselves don’t actually give us the information that we need to get to the suspect,” he said.
The Commander said that recently he headed a team to one of the Amerindian settlements where there were five reports of rape.
“The information was not as we expected. The people who are speaking out, even they are not getting the cooperation from the other villagers,” he added.
To tackle the issue, Persaud said, the police have been conducting a number of sensitisation exercises throughout the region. “It calls for sensitisation in the communities and that is what we are doing. That is why it will be eliminated at some stage.”
In August, the GPF had reported that there has been a 62.6% increase in rape reports.
Statistics provided show that as of August 9, there were 187 reports of rape compared to 115 for the same period last year.
Police Commander of Region Eight (Potaro-Siparuni), Senior Superintendent Michael Kingston had also indicated that rape is the only serious crime that has seen an increase in his region.
Providing brief statistics during his appearance on the programme, Kingston had said that Region Eight has recorded close to 19 rapes for the year thus far. The figure, he said, exceeded twice the number of cases recorded for the same period last year.
