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77 percent of murders solved in 2017, ring of pirates smashed
- but rise in carjackings alarming, says Top Cop
Acting Police Commissioner David Ramnarine
The year 2017 was another commendable one for the Force’s investigators, with Acting Commissioner of Police David Ramnarine announcing yesterday that his detectives had solved a whopping 77 percent of the murders that occurred in 2017.
Holding his first press conference for the year, Ramnarine said that the Force had recorded an eleven percent decrease in serious crimes, such as murder and robbery under arms.
In all, there were 116 recorded murders in 2017, as against 142 murders in 2016; a decrease of 18 percent.
“Of the 116 cases, 88, or seventy-seven per cent were solved,” Ramnarine told reporters.
“This percent has been high for the Guyana Police Force and for this country for quite a long while, and we believe that this ranks among the highest crime solving or clear up rate anywhere in recent times.”
Speaking about the 11 percent decrease in serious crimes, the acting Top Cop said that at the end of the year, the figure was around ten percent. He commended his ranks for the extra work they put in during the holidays to achieve a further reduction.”
But he also expressed concern about the troubling spate of carjackings, with the perpetrators showing a preference for Toyota Premio and Toyota Allion brands.
According to Ramnarine, the carjackings seem to have some sort of “criminal industrialized concept, with apparent collusion between several players in the criminal enterprise.
“The insurance element seems to stand out,” he added.
“In the first two months of the last quarter of 2017, we saw an increase (in carjackings) which was worrisome. In 2015, there were 41 cases, there were 36 in 2016, and 47 (carjackings) in 2017. We note of the 47 cases, in 2017, 16 (of the stolen vehicles) were Toyota Premio, and eight were Toyota Allion.”
In December, two carjacking suspects were arrested and, including one accused of three counts of such robberies. “We currently have a case which is between C Division and D Division, with one person who is under investigation.”
But Ramnarine also spoke of a notable decrease in piracy, and suggested that police, aided by the Guyana Defence Force, had dismantled at least one piracy ring.
He said that in 2017, there were nine reports of piracy, seven of which occurred between August and September. Since then, there were only two other reports.
“We believe that the interdiction last year, of a gang of nine, including two foreigners, in Region One, where two boats were seized, as well as firearms and narcotics, would have put a dent on piracy in that area. Also the presence of the police floating station, which is well equipped, has made an impact as a deterrent,” Ramnarine added, while commending the army’s Coast Guards who patrol the area.
There was also a 13 percent decrease in robbery under arms, with 665 reports in 2017, as against 769 in 2016. There was also a ten percent decrease in robberies in which other instruments were used; with 278 such crimes in 2017, as against 306 in 2016. Also down were incidents of break and enter and larceny, with 1,049 in 2017 and 1,275 in 2016.
However, police recorded increases in robbery with violence and robbery with aggravation.
In 2017, there were 135 cases of robbery with violence, as against 108 incidents in 2016. However, police recorded prosecutions in 49 percent of these robberies. There were 87 cases of robbery under aggravation last year as against 64 in 2016, a 36 percent increase.
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