Crime Statistician of the Sierra Leone Police, Sergeant Allen Mohamed Koroma has on Tuesday June 9, 2020, disclosed that the rate of crime has increased from about 61, 783 in 2018 to 75, 729 cases in 2019.
Out of the 75,729 cases reported in 2019, the Legal and Justice Support Department of the Sierra Leone Police processed 3,276 cases and sent them to the Magistrate Courts for further prosecution. Sgt. Koroma said only 4.33% of all of all reported cases were dealt with by the Police.
Sgt. Koroma said that, the crime data distribution across the regions of Sierra Leone for 2019 shows that the Western Area recorded 65.19 % (49, 367) cases; Northern Region 28.56 % (14,052) cases; Southern Region 10.13 % (7, 669); and the Eastern Region recorded 6.13 % (4,641) cases.
He attributed the increase in the rate of crime to the adoption of more appropriate methods of recording data; easy access of offenders to police; the growth of population in the country; socio- economic hardship on the average Sierra Leoneans; more public sensitization and awareness raising campaigns.
He cited that out of the 75, 729 recorded cases in 2019, the crimes in violation of the Offences Against the Persons Act 1861 were the highest with 23, 691 cases, followed by Offences Against Property with 18, 861 cases.
The police recorded 12,314 cases relating to the Offences against Women and Children; 8, 143 cases relating to Road Traffic Offences and Crashes; 8, 145 cases relating to Economic offences; 2, 916 cases relating to Mischief and Public Order Offences; and 1, 659 cases relating to Miscellaneous Offences.
Koroma also mentioned that there was an increase on Traffic offences with 8, 143 cases in 2019 when compared to 8, 002 in 2018.
He also mentioned that in 2019, the Family Support Unit recorded 12, 314 cases compared to 12, 052 cases in 2018, adding that out of the reported cases Domestic Violence accounted for 8, 917, a decrease when compared to 9, 917 in 2018. Sergeant Koroma also revealed that Sexual Penetration cases amounted to 3, 253 in total , and Rape 145 cases, compared to the figures for 2018 which put Sexual Penetration at 2, 726 cases and rape with 205 cases in 2018.
Sgt. Koroma said that the Transnational Organised Crime Unit (TOCU) investigated 118 drug-related cases in 2019, as compared to 64 cases in 2018. He said that the TOCU also recorded 80 human traffic cases in 2019 compared to 28 cases in 2018.
He said that the National Crime Bureau (NCB) investigated 10 cases in in 2019 when compared to 17 cases in 2018.
By George M. O. Williams
10/6/2020. ISSUE NO.: 7842