Law enforcement officers are reporting a decrease in incidents related to priority offenses, but says there has been a significant increase in drug offenses, firearms offenses, and sexual offenses.
These findings were discussed during a media briefing held yesterday (Tuesday).
The Homicide Analysis revealed a slight difference in the murder statistics, reporting 70 murders so far this year compared to 71 last year.
In terms of case resolution, police indicated that 22 cases have been solved this year, with 43 cases currently under active investigation.
Firearms were identified as the primary weapon used in committing homicides.
A Highlight of the Key Findings from the quarterly report submitted by the Royal St Lucia Police Force [RSLPF], for the period 1 st January to 31st October, 2024 is as follows:
❖ Burglaries accounted for four hundred and thirty-one (431) revealing a decrease of one hundred and two (102) cases in 2024 when compared to the Year 2023 where five hundred and thirty-three (533) cases were recorded.
❖ Robbery cases decreased by twenty-six percent (26%), from two hundred and eleven (211) cases in 2023 to one hundred and eighty-five (185) cases in 2024, with the Central Division accounting for sixty-seven percent (67%) of the island-wide total.
❖ Stolen Motor Vehicle cases saw a slight decrease of four percent (4%), from seventy-one (71) cases in 2023 to sixty-eight (68) cases in 2024, with the majority of the offences occurring within the Central Division.
❖ Drug Offences cases increased by fifteen percent (15%) in 2024, with cocaine seizure increasing significantly.
❖ Cases of Stealing from Person increased by twenty percent (20%) in 2024 with the Central Division accounting for sixty-eight percent (68%) of the total recorded cases.
❖ Sexual Offences increased by nineteen percent (19%) during 2024 when compared to the year 2023, with the Central Division accounting for the majority of cases.
❖ Serious crime increased from one thousand, six hundred and forty-three (1,643) cases in 2023 to one thousand, six hundred and ninety-nine (1699) cases in 2024.
❖ Geographically, the Central Division recorded the highest number of incidents in 2024, with fifty-nine percent (59%), followed by Northern Division with twenty-one percent (21%) and Southern Division accounting for twenty percent (20%).
❖ Homicides decreased by one case from 2023 to 2024, with firearms being the most utilized weapon to commit these acts.
❖ Twenty-two murders were solved in the Year 2024 by law enforcement as well as six others which were committed during the Year 2023.
❖ A total of seventy-two illegal firearms and one thousand, three hundred and eighteen (1318) rounds of various calibres were recovered by Law Enforcement in the year 2024.
❖ During the Year 2024 law enforcement solved two hundred and fifteen (215) cases of firearm related crime out of a total of two hundred and eighty-four (284) cases, achieving a higher detection rate of seventy-six percent (76%) when compared to the Year 2023.