Basseterre, St. Kitts, August 25, 2017 (SKNIS): The proactive and sustained operations to enhance public safety by law enforcement have resulted in decreases in the number of serious crimes committed, including homicides, attempted murder, and grievous bodily harm, as well as a corresponding increase in the rate of detection for all crimes in general.
At a press conference on Thursday (August 24), Commissioner of Police, Ian Queeley, shared the statistics recorded up to August 22, 2017, and compared it to statistics from the same period in 2016. He said: “the decrease in the category of serious crime is worthy of note, as Homicide declined from 23 to 18 or 22 percent; Attempted Murder from 29 to 18 or 38 percent; Shooting At with Intent from 17 to 12 or 29 percent; and Grievous Bodily Harm from 90 to 82 or nine percent.
The rate of detection for serious crimes has also improved when compared to the corresponding figures last year, which again was attributed to the increased vigilance of the men and women of the Royal St. Christopher and Nevis Police Force (RSCNPF). The rate of detection for Homicides increased from 17 percent to 38.9 percent; Attempted Murder up from 27.5 percent to 55.5 percent; and Shooting At with Intent from 11.7 percent to 41.6 percent.
Commissioner Queeley further revealed that there have also been declines in crimes such as breakings and larcenies down by 7 percent and 19.1 percent respectively. Malicious damage continued on a three year reducing trend. There were slight increases in robberies and sexual crimes but both were under 10 percent. Drug offences also increased by 37.3 percent. Overall cases of reported crime were up by a marginal 0.6 percent, which some attribute to the police enjoying a higher rate of success.
The police chief said: “we have continued to embrace the various elements of the Police Six Point Plan for the Reduction of Homicides and Violent Crimes 2015 such as intelligence-led policing and collaboration with other agencies, both internal and external.” He referred to the Police Strategic Plan 2011-2019 and the Service Improvement Plan and added that “all of these guiding doctrines are in full execution and bearing fruit.”
