With the Guyana Police Force just recently indicating that crime statistics are at their lowest over a 10-year period, Leader of the Opposition, Joseph Harmon, has noted that the figure presented paints a false narrative of how the Guyana society is under the PPP/C Government in order to entice investors.
Speaking at a press conference this morning, the Leader of the Opposition maintained that in the eyes of many crimes that have been committed according to the figures proposed by the police are merely false information from a force controlled by the Government.
“Crime is a serious indicator of social and moral decay in your country. It’s a serious indicator of the investment climate in your country.”
Harmon said the police and the Government are massaging the figures to make things look good for the government when in reality they are not that way.
He maintained that he is however not surprised. Back in the past when crime continued to be reported very frequently a lot of countries gave their citizens travel advisories among other information when dealing with business in Guyana.
Mr. Harmon further explained that the Government understood what was curbing visitors and investors. Even its citizens had to remain careful while in Guyana. The Government has put in place a team in the police force to suppress the real information.
“They are massaging the figures, to release, to see what looks good for the Government but the crime situation in Guyana is bad and that is the reality.
“How could you explain under the bright lights, not far away from where the President lives a man can be gunned down, execution-style, and you find the car burnt up somewhere and you can’t get a single person before the court.
“How can you explain only the other day a doctor is brutalized in office or home and you have all sort of crazy statements being made by people? How could you justify the Henry brothers and Haresh Singh and the nonsense that came out of police investigation?”
Mr. Harmon pointed out that the situation can only become worst since there are no recorded cases of crime and the identity of persons who committed the crime. This gives criminals more confidence.
“It seems as if the criminals have more rights than our citizens. This is one of the reasons why (the government) is suppressing these numbers. It is to give the impression that all is fine but while you are doing that, you are giving license to the criminal elements to behave as they are because they say ‘Hey, this thing is not being recorded, this thing is no longer a statistic. I can just pick up my gun and go into somebody’s house as they did with the gentleman on the Essequibo Coast (Mr. Orin Boston) and shot him.”
Just a few days ago, Crime Chief Wendell Blanhum revealed during a press conference hosted by the Guyana Police Force that 1700 serious crimes were committed for the year. It was recorded as the lowest, with the highest being 4,204 in 2013.
He explained that during this period, the lowest number of robbery murders was recorded, with the highest being recorded in 2019. He added that were five execution murders, 72 disorderly, 18 domestic and 14 unknowns. The murder rate, he noted, is also the third-lowest. The current clear-up rate for murders is 68 percent.
Blanhum also explained that as compared to 2020, there was a 19.4 percent decrease in serious crimes this year, moving from 2109 to 1700.
