Robbery and defilement on the rise - Ghana Police

There has been an increase in robbery and defilement cases in the country, according to the latest annual crime report released by the Ghana Police Service.

The report attributes the rise in robbery cases to a surge in street robberies, particularly targeted at mobile money operators.

The report however said the crime rate in general, has declined, with major offences such as rape, murder and narcotics all maintaining a steady rate of occurrence.

Part of the report read: “A critical look at the data indicates that street robbery has accounted for the slight increase in the robbery cases recorded between the years 2016-2017. Street robbery has accounted for the increase in robbery in 2017.”

The police explain that mobile money operators are being targeted due to the proliferation of the service and the perception that they always have money on them.

The report also suggested that “to effectively manage the crime situation, especially robberies, the police periodically conduct intelligence swoops by the new Directorate of Intelligence.”

The police is also replicating its intelligence units across the whole country as part of measures to proactively combat crimes. It has hitherto remained at its headquarters in Accra. 

The establishment of the intelligence units at the regional levels, according to the police, is to detect and foil crime before they are committed.
Relatedly, the police has also increased its motorbike and vehicular patrols as well as its snap checks.

On the part of defilement, parents and or guardians are being asked to keep watchful eyes on their daughters and avoid exposing them to possible threats.