By Chernor Alimamy Kamara
The Sierra Leone Police Crime Statistics Report of 2023 has indicated that the Western Area tops the crime rate index of the country with a combined record of 18,988 (eighteen thousand, nine hundred and eighty-eight) cases-representing 62%.
The Regional Crime rate analysis was done to identify regions with the highest crime rate in Sierra Leone and it was discovered that the Western Area which comprised the capital and the rural district tops the chart.
The Report launched at the Police Headquarters in Freetown on the 14th of February 2024 indicated that the Northern Region which has both North East and North West ranked second in the report with a combined logged cases of 5,180 (five thousand, one hundred and eighty) representing 17.0%.
It also noted that the Southern Region ranked 3rd recording 3,275 (three thousand, two hundred and seventy-five) cases with a percentage of 11.0% and the Eastern Region ranked 4th with 3,048 (three thousand, and forty-eight) cases representing 10.0%.
The aforementioned analysis from the report indicates that the Western Area is always more prone to criminal activities than any other region in Sierra Leone; followed by the Northern Region, Southern Region and Eastern Region respectively.
Also, out of the 36 Divisions manned by Local Unit Commanders (LUCs) of the SLP, the report captured 3 major reported offences: Homicide, Robbery with Aggravation and Robbery with Violence.
“This was basically done to identify certain Divisions where the activities of these three major offences were carried out,” part of the report states.
The report highlighted that in 2023, the Family Support Unit (FSU) recorded 10,063 (ten thousand, and sixty-three) cases as compared to 11,613 (eleven thousand, six hundred and thirteen) cases in 2022.
It stated that out of the aforementioned recorded cases in 2023, 7,927 (seven thousand, nine hundred and twenty-seven) were Domestic Violence cases, 323 (three hundred and twenty-three) cases of child offences and 1,813 (one thousand, eight hundred and thirteen) cases of sexual offences.
It further stated that the FSU however charged 739 cases (i.e. 107 being of sexual offence nature, 627 cases of Domestic Violence and 5 cases of Child Offences).
1,052 (one thousand, and fifty-two) cases were closed, 1,218 (one thousand, two hundred and eighteen) cases were kept in view and 7,054 (seven thousand, and fifty-four) cases were still under investigation.
“The highest rate of these Offences involving Women and Children occurred in Freetown East with 3,499 cases followed by Freetown West with 1,756 cases, and North- East Region with 1,574 cases. North-West recorded the least number of cases of 555,” the report states.
In the Area of Traffic Management, the report found that a total of 3,953 (three thousand, nine hundred and fifty-three) Traffic Accident Cases were reported countrywide, compared to 4,124 (four thousand, one hundred and twenty-four) cases in 2022.
The Road Traffic Management Report indicated that 3,830 (three thousand, eight hundred and thirty) people were involved in accidents in 2023, noting that 490 people were fatally injured (male 390 and Female 100), 1,341 Seriously Injured (Male 822 and Female 519) and 2,099 people Slightly Injured (Male 1,326 and Female 771).
It further noted that the Transnational Organized Crime Unit (TOCU) investigated a total of 269 cases; of which 106 were charged to Court, 28 cases sent to the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP), and 136 cases under investigation. It added that 70 cases were recorded as assault on police in 2023 and they have been investigated and charged to court.
The Report says the Anti-Land Grabbing Unit of the Police investigated 334 land cases, out of which 39 were charged to court, 101 were sent to the Ministry of Lands for verification of documents, 39 were settled, 66 were kept in view and 89 were still under investigation.
Copyright (c) 2024 (Politico 20/02/24)
