Murder rate hits 108 for the year as other violent crimes also increase

The Guyana Police Force reported on Friday that there continues to be an increase in criminal activities across the country.

According to the police, at the end of August 2015, a 12% increase in serious crimes was recorded in comparison to the same period in 2014.

The Police statement said that the country has recorded a total of 108 murders for the year so far with four of those murders occurring in the first two weeks of September.

“Among the serious crimes policed by the Force are murder, robbery under arms, robbery with violence, robbery with aggravation, larceny from the person, break and enter and larceny, burglary, rape, and kidnapping”, the police statement said.

Robbery under arms has seen an overall increase of 3% in comparison to the same period in 2014. The statistics indicate an increase of 4% in the number of armed robberies involving the use of firearms; while the number of armed robberies where instruments other than firearms were used by the perpetrators.

The Force is also reporting a 65% in the number of reports of rape with 271 reports at the end of August this year compared to 164 for the same period last year. Break and Enter and Larceny and Burglary have shown an overall increase of 13%.

The Police Force maintains that it is continuing with its crime fighting plan and the amnesty for illegal firearms in ongoing. A number of weapons and ammunition have already been turned over to the police.