Despite seeing a slight increase in various crimes, Guyana Police Force (GPF) Crime Chief, Wendell Blanhum says that there has been an overall 19 per cent decrease in serious crimes for this year compared to last year.
Speaking on Tuesday at the launching of the force’s Christmas Policing Posture held at the Police Officer’s Mess in Eve Leary, Kingston, Blanhum stated that for the year 2022, 1,397 serious crimes were recorded.
“…For the period 1st of January to the 13th of November 2022 and 2021, overall there was a decrease by 19 per cent of serious crime which translates to 331 less serious crimes being recorded for the year 2022 when compared to the previous period [2021], notably, there was a reasonable decline with regard to break and enter and larceny by 23 per cent which translates to 134 less serious crimes for the period when compared to the previous period [2021].”
Comparing figures over the last decade, Blanhum said 432 cases of break and enter and larceny were recorded in the year 2022 while the highest number, 1,692, was recorded in 2013.
The decrease in serious crimes also included a drop in other offences such as murder, rape and the four different categories of robbery. The Crime Chief remarked that even though the decrease is notable, the force did see a slight increase in other offences such as larceny from persons and burglary.
The number of serious crimes recorded in 2015 was said to be 3,925.
Disaggregating his 2022 findings among the twelve regional divisions in the country, the crime chief informed that the highest number of serious crimes, calculated to be 24 per cent was recorded within Regional Division 4 ‘A’, followed by Regional Division 4 ‘B’ with 18 per cent and Region Three with 15 per cent. He noted that the factors to consider when assessing the crime rate in Regional 4 ’A’ includes the large number of people who reside within the division and due to the division also being a commercial hub.
He noted that in 2020 there were 157 murders while for 2022 108 have been recorded thus far.
“The data confirms that there was a fluctuation trend in the 2020 with 157 murders being recorded in that year. However there was a steady decline in the number of murders with 108 murders in the current year, so I wish to draw your attention to the fact that this is the lowest number of murders recorded for this ten-year period.”
The Crime Chief added that the majority of murders are either disorderly or domestic. “This bar graph depicts the category of murder over a five year period… both disorderly and domestic murders account for more than half of the total murder figures for the period 2018 to 2022. It can be clearly observed that over the five-year period, disorderly murders have been the most prevalent category of murders recorded in Guyana… there were 361 disorderly murders during this five-year period…”, Blanhum said.
In addition, he noted that Regional Division 4 ‘A’ is once again listed as the division with the highest number of murders being 16 per cent with Regional Division Seven and Six coming directly behind.
Meanwhile, in an effort to minimise the recurrence of such murders, Blanhum said that the force plans on hosting campaigns to raise awareness on how both disorderly and domestic violence can escalate to persons losing their lives and also to hold conflict resolution seminars within communities that have a high murder rate.
Furthermore, as it relates to robbery, he informed that “…2022 has the lowest number of robberies which translates to 1,029 less robberies compared to 2013,” while stating that a consistent downward trend has been observed with street robberies. For the year 2022, a total of 502 robberies have been recorded so far while compared to 2013, a total of 1,531 was seen.
For the offence of Trafficking in Persons (TIP), 2022 yielded the lowest number. Blanhum said that this stemmed from the force partnering with various entities, such as the Ministry of Human Services and Social Security, the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), and many other stakeholders where campaigns were held to tackle the offence of trafficking.
In relation to firearms, it was reported that the force took out of circulation 68 illegal firearms for 2022 , with revolvers being the most prevalent type of firearm to be seized followed by shotguns. Blanhum noted that most of the firearms were sourced from the United States and Brazil. He said that those that came from Brazil gained entry via Lethem which is the main transit point for the weapons.
As it pertains to narcotics, the third highest number of cocaine seizures which totalled 293.4 kilogrammes (kg) was registered this year, while the largest seizure of 536.3 kg occurred in 2021. Additionally, over the last five years, the highest cannabis seizure was seen this year at 761.28 kg and the lowest was recorded in 2018 with only 504.5 kg. Sixty-one and a half (61½) cannabis fields were destroyed this year.
Blanhum said that informants have played a major role in helping to decrease the incidence of serious crimes, along with the police anti-crime patrols, road blocks, CCTV cameras, and many other strategies that were implemented. He however noted that even though they were provided with CCTV videos, they were hindered by the quality of many of them. The Crime Chief said that other challenges faced during the year were police corruption and lawlessness. Fourteen officers were charged with a number of serious crimes. The lack of resources to test DNA samples at the Guyana Forensic Science Laboratory and porous borders were also flagged as other challenges.
