The Bureau of Public Safety has revealed that violent crimes in the country went up by 40.8 per cent compared to the situation in 2020.
This was contained in the 2021 edition of the annual ‘Ghana Public Safety and Crime Report’ put together by the Bureau of Public Safety.
Data in the report indicated that associated deaths also went up by 53.7%, representing a record jump from the previous report.
The report also found that the Greater Accra Region and the Ashanti Region topped the chart for the regions with the most number of crime incidents for the year under review.
“Ashanti Region is the murder capital of the country, returning 23% of all homicide cases reported across the country in 2021. Central Region dominated reported aggravated assault cases across the country by returning 23% of all aggravated assault cases reported for the period. Firearm use in the commission of reported violent crime has increased for the third year running, increasing in Y2021 by 57.6% over Y2020,” the report stated.
With data suggesting that more than 70% of the top three incidents of violent crimes occurred outside the places of abode of the victims, the Bureau of Public Safety called for public education “about situational awareness and dangers in transitional spaces.”
It also emphasised the need to expand community policy while suggesting that state-mounted CCTV cameras should be deployed, and footage occasionally released to the public to promote awareness and serve as a deterrent to would-be criminals.
Ashanti Region identified as “murder capital”
The report also revealed that the Ashanti Region recorded the highest number of murder cases out of over 200 murder cases recorded last year, across the country, recording 23 per cent of all homicide cases reported across the country last year.
The report also revealed that the Greater Accra and Ashanti regions reported the highest incidents of armed robberies last year – each region reported 19% of over 150 armed robbery cases in 2021.
In the case of firearms usage, the Bureau identified that 74 per cent of reported armed robbery cases involved the use of firearms while 20 per cent of homicide cases involving murder and manslaughter had to do with the use of firearms.
In the report, the top three most reported violent crimes in 2021 are; murder/manslaughter, armed robbery and aggravated assault.
Meanwhile, the Bureau in the report noted that generally, drowning, illegal mining pit collapses, and building collapses, were the top three frequently reported incidents in 2021.
Drowning accounted for 43% of deaths in the General Index category, with mining pit collapses and building collapses being 17% and 9% respectively.
