Murders up by 33% in Region 5 – Commander

…Police engage men on domestic violence, sexual assault discussions

Murders in Region Five (Mahaica-Berbice) have increased by a whopping 33 per cent, Regional Commander, Superintendent Carol Harding has revealed.
She made the revelation during her appearance on the Guyana Police Force’s weekly radio programme “Police & You” on Tuesday evening, noting that while murders have increased, overall serious crimes in the region has seen a 40 per cent reduction.
The Commander stated that as compared to last year which saw seven murders occurring, there were only five within the region thus far for 2021.
This comes in light of the recently-reported 33 per cent increase in murder cases for the month of June.
However, she noted that there was still one unsolved murder, stating that the GPF is working overtime to ensure that the culpable individual faces the full brunt of the law.
Meanwhile, the Commander shared that her division has been making efforts to collaborate with pastors in gathering the men within the communities of the region to engage in discussions on domestic violence and sexual assaults.
“…I spoke to the Cops of Faith and I spoke to other pastors from all denominations and I asked them to have their men folks so that I can have discussions with them on domestic violence …sexual offences, because what I found, the women are really au fait with what is happening with the domestic violence. But for the men, they are not that au fait,” the Commander revealed.
Their lack of awareness, she revealed, is owed to the fact that there is a myth in which the men believe, that domestic violence is a woman’s thing.
Only a few months ago while speaking with Guyana Times, the Commander had stated that while no statistics were readily available on domestic violence, it was everybody’s business, and if it is not curbed, it could result in many other social issues developing in the society.
Just last year, the Child Care & Protection Agency (CCPA) reported that 97 boys between the ages of 14 and 18 were physically and sexually abused.