Latest update December 11th, 2024 1:33 AM
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Police fatal shootings on the decline
Kelvin Fraser
Amidst all the furore over the killing of 17-year old Kelvin Fraser, the Guyana Police Force is boasting about the significant reduction in police killings.
Figures released by the force indicate a sharp decline in the number of police fatal shooting between 2002 to present.
From a high of 34 persons killed in 2002 only three persons have been killed so far this year.
However, there is still some concern over the recent killings since at least two of the victims, Fraser and a youth from Berbice were in no way connected to criminal activities.
A look at the figures shows that in 2002, 34 persons were killed by the police, while 35 were slain the following year.
These killings represented the period when the security forces were engaged in a fierce campaign against criminal elements that made up the Buxton/Agricola gang.
The figured decreased in 2004 with 17 persons falling to the guns of the police. It declined further in 2005 with the killing of 10 persons but then increased again to 26 in 2006.
There were 14 police killings the following year and 17 in 2008. 14 persons were killed by the police in 2009.
While up to July 1, last year, seven persons were taken out by the police, only three have been listed so far for this year.
Significantly, the Police A Division (Georgetown and its environs) accounted for the most killings during the period under review.
In 2002, the beginning of the crime wave that rocked the country, 24 persons were killed in the division, followed by nine in the crime infested East Coast Demerara.
Both A and C (East Coast Demerara) divisions accounted for 15 police killings each in 2003.
Berbice recorded its highest figure in 2006 with the slaying of nine persons by the police that year.
These included the slaying of well known criminals, during a confrontation following the daring Rose Hall bank robberies.
Last year, three persons were shot dead by the police in A Division and three more in the interior locations.
Only one person was killed in Berbice last year while there were no killings on the East Coast Demerara.
Meanwhile, murders increased by four percent during the period January to June 28 for 2009 and 2010.
Last year, for the period, there were 57 murders compared with 59 so far this year.
Robbery under arms using firearms this year also saw an increase by 75 percent over the same period in 2009.
This year there were 21 reported cases, nine more than for the same period last year.
There were significant declines in the cases of robbery under arms using instruments other than firearms and robbery with violence.
Rape declined by 27 percent, and while there were no reported kidnappings for the first half of 2009, so far this year there have been only one such incident this year.
Overall the police have recorded an overall decline of 11 percent in serious crimes.
“While all the other Caricom countries are grappling with increase in crime, we in Guyana have been able to reduce it,” Commissioner of Police Henry Greene boasted last Saturday following the Force’s 171st anniversary route march through the city.
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