By sulaiman.sesay@awokonewspaper.sl
Freetown, SIERRA LEONE – According to the crime statistics compiled by the Sierra Leone Police (SLP), the country recorded a total of thirty-three thousand, one hundred and fifty-seven (33,157) criminal and accident cases reported in 2022.
The disclosure was made at the Sierra Leone Police Headquarters on George Street in Freetown where the official launching of the statistics was being done.
Findings from the Sierra Leone Police indicated that in the 2022 Crime year, 27,018 criminal activities were reported in all (6 Police Command Regions in Sierra Leone. However, the Criminal Investigations Departments (CID) Headquarters in Freetown alone received and investigated 2,015 Criminal Cases. Traffic Department received and investigated 4,124 Road Traffic Accidents cases in 2022.
In total, 33,157 Criminal and Accident cases were reported and investigated by the Sierra Leone Police Countrywide with an overall crime rate of 0.39%. In 2021, there were 41,459 criminal cases reported with a crime rate of 0.50%. according to the police, there was a tremendous decrease in the rate of Crimes by 11% in 2022, for the past years, adding that there had been a sharp reduction in the number of crimes in Sierra Leone which has contributed to the stable environment in the country.
The SLP attributed the decrease in crime to the following: Strong security measures taken by Police and the RSLAF, check points at Strategic points at night, timely response to distress calls, etc, Community sensitizations on crime prevention, continuous stakeholders’ engagement on crime prevention strategies.
In terms of the various regions, the SLP disclosed that Western Area (Freetown East and West) recorded 21,222 criminal cases representing 1.18%, the Northern Region (North West and East) received 4,795 criminal cases with a percentage of 0.16%, Southern Region recorded 3,533 criminal cases representing 0.20% and Eastern Region recorded 3,587 criminal cases which represent 0.18%. From the Regional analysis above, there is a clear indication Western Area is prone to more criminal activities than any other region in Sierra Leone, followed by Southern Region, Eastern Region, and Northern Region, respectively.
SLP noted the following challenges in putting together the statistics: late submission of monthly crime statistics to the Corporate Affairs Directorate by Commanders, lack of training for data analysts and data officers in the various regions.
In this circumstance, the SLP has proferred the following recommendations: To intensify intelligence-gathering efforts to identify high-profile criminals and their hideouts, to deploy Community Safety Volunteers (CSVs) and coordinate well with the Local Policing Partnership Board (LPPB) members.
The SLP further recommends that the Family Support Unit (FSU) and the Ministry of Social Welfare, Gender, and Children’s Affairs should team up and organize sensitization meetings to educate students/ pupils on Sexual Penetration and Rape and how to deal with them.
The SLP further recommended that the political will to foster the reporting of rape incidents countrywide should be enhanced and the establishment of accessible roads on the hilltop and seafront areas. Most of the major crimes like armed robbery are committed in places where vehicles cannot access due to the poor road network.
While launching the crime statistics, Director of Corporate Affairs, Sierra Leone Police (SLP), Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG) Memuna Conteh Jalloh, disclosed that the annual crime statistics will help the police to predict the way crimes are being committed in the different locations across the country.
She added that the annual statistics will help the force to put in place strategies that are informed by these statistics. She furthered that the crime statistics provide information as to resource allocation, as well as for the SLP’s strategic development plans, among others. SKS/14/3/2023