malvernmugadzikwa
Sunday Mail Reporter
ZIMBABWE recorded an 11 percent drop in crime rates during the three months to June this year, with seven out of the country’s 10 provinces recording declines, data from the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (ZimStat) has shown.
Police recorded 196 796 offences between April and June, which represents an 11,2 percent decrease from the 221 704 cases reported in the first three months of the year.
Crime rates declined in Harare, Bulawayo, Midlands, Masvingo, Matabeleland South, Mashonaland East and Manicaland provinces. At the national level, the crime rate stood at 1 296 offences per 100 000 people in the same period, down from 1 460 per 100 000 in the January-March period.
The “public safety and state security” category accounted for the most common offences, with 74 523 cases recorded.
This represents a crime rate of 491 per 100 000 people.
Over that period, law-enforcement authorities recorded 263 cases of intentional homicide, 2 970 cases of sexual violence and 74 288 cases of non-injurious traffic violations.
There were also 2 749 cases of fraud and 62 cases of corruption.
Harare province had the highest crime rate, nearly double the national average, at 2 443,9 per 100 000 people.
“In Harare, Bulawayo, Mashonaland Central and Midlands provinces, vulnerability to crime was above the national average,” reads the ZimStat Second-Quarter Crime Statistics Report released on Friday.
“The crime rate in Harare province nearly doubled the national crime rate, at 2 443.9 per 100 000 people against the national average of 1 296.5.
“Of the 196 796 cases recorded in the second quarter of 2024, crimes against public safety and state security were the most common with 74 523 cases recorded.
“The second most common type of crime recorded was acts against property only, with 50 571 cases.
“Acts leading to harm or intending to cause harm to the person were 37 784.”
According to the report, 140 154 people were charged by the police for various offences, with 88 percent of the accused persons being male.
“The rate for charged persons for all offences stood at 923,4 per 100 000 people, a decline from 1 083,5 in the previous quarter.
“The rate for charged males for all offences was 1 700,9 persons per 100 000 males, while it was 205 for females, using the same weight.”
As of June 28, 2024, Zimbabwe’s prison population stood at 20 997, with 96,9 percent being male and the rest female.
The national imprisonment rate was 135 prisoners per 100 000 people.
During the second quarter of the year, 15 038 people were imprisoned, while 18 009 were discharged.
Online Reporter