‘E’ Division records increase in several serious crimes

The Police ‘E’ Division (Linden-Kwakwani) has recorded an increase in serious crimes for the period January to August 2018, as compared to the same period in 2017.
Offences such as murder, robbery, break and enter and larceny, rape and burglary have so far all recorded increases in the Division for 2018. However, there has been an improvement in clear up rates (cases which were brought before the court). The comparative figures coming out of the Division has indicated that, so far for the specified period in 2018, there were three cases of murder as compared to two cases in 2017, which represents a 50 per cent increase.
Divisional Commander Anthony Vanderhyden sought to explain the figures: “We had 6 reports (for robbery under arms) in 2017. We had 4 cases coming out from that. In 2018, we had seven (reports) and we only had two cases come out from this,” he noted. There was a 17 per cent increase in robbery under arms in 2018, with a 29 percent clear up rate as opposed to 67 per cent in 2017. Meanwhile, there was zero reported cases of robbery under arms whereby instruments other than a gun were used so far for the same period in both 2018 and 2017, in addition to zero reported cases of robbery with violence for both years. Robbery with aggravation saw one reported case for the same period in 2018, which was cleared up (went before the court) as compared to zero reported cases in 2017.
Break and entry and larceny, which the Divisional Commander noted is prevalent in Linden, saw an overall increase of 15 percent. “We had 20 reports in 2017 for the same period, eight cases came out of that. In 2018, we had 23 reports and we had 18 cases”, he explained. The figures represent a 78 percent clear up rate in 2018, as opposed to 29 percent in 2017.
Additionally, in 2018 so far, the Division saw 6 reported cases of statutory rape, with 4 cases coming out of that figure, as opposed to 5 reports in 2017 with 1 case being derived from it. There were also 3 reports of rape in 2018 with 1 case coming out of those reports, as compared to 2 and 1 respectively in 2017. The figures represent an increase of 29 percent in rape with a 56 percent clear up rate in 2018, as opposed to 29 in 2017.
Meanwhile, there was only one report of larceny from the person in 2018, which represents a 100 percent increase as compared to zero reports in 2017.
Burglary saw 8 reports in 2018, with 5 cases being derived from this figure as opposed to four and two respectively in 2017. There were clear up rates of 66 per cent and 44 per cent respectively.
Also, there was no reported nor recorded case of kidnapping in the Division so far for this year nor last year. The Divisional Commander explained that this time around there were more reports than last year, and that there were clear up rates this year.