Lowest number of murders for 10 years in Guyana

CMC – Guyana is reporting 108 murders so far this year, the lowest level in the past decade as law enforcement authorities Tuesday indicated that serious crimes in the country had declined by 19 per cent.

Addressing the launch of the Christmas Policing Plan 2022, Acting Deputy Commissioner and Crime Chief, Wendell Blanhum, said that there were 331 less serious crimes recorded between January 1 and November 13, 2022 when compared to the same period last year.

The police said they had seized 68 illegal firearms so far this year with United States and Brazil being the country from where the guns originated.

“Regarding Brazil, a significant amount of illegal firearms seized are the taurus pistols and revolvers. The taurus weapons are produced and sourced from Brazil. Our investigation has so far revealed that Lethem is a main transit points for these weapons,” said Blanhum.

The police said that the number of murders, incidents of rape and robberies declined in 2022, with the authorities reporting no cases of kidnapping last year and so far this year.

Blanhum said of the murders recorded over a 10-year period between 2013-2022, this year has recorded the lowest total so far.

“The data confirms that there was a fluctuation in the trends with a peak in 2020 with 157 murders recorded in that year. However, there was a steady decline in the number of murders.

“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 368 disorderly murders during this five-year period. These murders emanated from disorderly conduct and interpersonal violence,” he explained.

The police said that it would be launching a social media campaign in a bid to bring down the number of disorderly murders. The campaign will seek to raise awareness on disorderly conduct and how it can escalate into murder. Conflict resolution seminars are also on the card.

According to the police, so far this year, break and enter and larceny declined by 23 per cent with Blanhum saying “I wish to submit that break and enter and larceny is the most prevalent offence in Guyana”.

Regarding drug trafficking, the police said 293 kg of cocaine was seized,  the third highest in a five year period, while 761kg of cannabis had been seized so far this year, the highest in five years.

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