2003 Crime Statistics at a glance

COMMISSIONER of Police (CoP) Hilton Guy yesterday called a press conference at Old Police Headquarters to report on the effectiveness of his three-month intense assault on crime.

The following is a list of crime statistics for the first four months of the year, as provided by Commissioner Guy.

MURDERS

JANUARY - 17 murders committed; six murders detected; 22 persons charged (Out of the 22, 10 were charged for murders committed last year while one man was charged for a 2001 murder).
FEBRUARY - 15 murders committed; six murders detected; eight persons charged
MARCH - 25 murders committed; six murders detected; four persons charged
APRIL (as of yesterday) - three murders committed; two murders detected; two persons charged.
TOTAL: 60 murders; 20 cases detected, leading to 36 persons being charged.

KIDNAPPINGS

JANUARY - 31 kidnappings; two kidnapped for ransom; no victims rescued by police; four persons charged; one child kidnapped; total ransom demanded: $500,000; total ransom paid: nil
FEBRUARY - 17 kidnappings; two persons kidnapped for ransom; 15 persons abducted eventually escaped; three persons charged; no children kidnapped; total ransom demanded $3.3million; total ransom paid out: $1,050,000
MARCH - 13 kidnappings; five persons kidnapped for ransom; three victims rescued by police; seven persons charged; two children kidnapped; total ransom demanded: $13,430,000; total ransom paid: nil
APRIL - four kidnappings; three persons kidnapped for ransom; no victims rescued by police; no persons charged; total ransom demanded: $3,515,000; total ransom paid: $227,000.
TOTAL - 65 persons kidnapped; 12 persons kidnapped for ransom; three children kidnapped; total ransom demanded: $20,745,000; total ransom paid: $1,277,00
CoP Guy stated that the figure reflecting the amount of ransom paid, were provided by relatives of kidnap victims and as such, do not reflect the final amount in terms of ransom paid, since not all relatives of victims disclosed if they paid a ransom or not.
PERCENTAGE RATE OF KIDNAP CASES SOLVED BETWEEN
1997 --2003
1997 - One kidnapping; case solved; ransom demand: $5million; success rate 100 percent
1998 - Four persons kidnapped; all cases unsolved; ransom demanded: $4,360,000; total ransom paid: $900,000; success rate: nil
1999 - One kidnapping; case unsolved; total ransom demand: $4million; total ransom paid: nil; success rate: nil
2000 - Four kidnappings; one case solved; total ransom demanded: $4.5million; total ransom paid: $410,000; two persons released without ransom paid; success rate: 25 percent
2001 - Six kidnappings; three cases solved; two persons released upon payment of ransom; total ransom demanded: $1,860,000; total ransom paid: $275,000; success rate: 50 percent
2002 - 29 kidnappings; 13 cases solved; total ransom demanded: TT$41,450,000 and US$2,120,000; total ransom paid: TT$6,922,000 and US$30,000; total amount of ransom money recovered: TT$127,000; seven victims rescued while four victims were released without payment and four escaped; success rate: 44.8 percent.
2003 - 12 kidnappings; four cases solved; total ransom demanded: $20,950,000; total ransom paid: $1,270,000; success rate: 33 percent.

FIREARMS SEIZED

JANUARY - five pistols; eight revolvers; one shotgun; 1,067 rounds of ammunition; 82 persons charged.
FEBRUARY - three pistols; eight revolvers; five shotguns; 180 rounds of ammunition; 51 persons charged.
MARCH - five pistols; six revolvers; one shotgun; 387 rounds of ammunition; 134 persons charged
TOTAL: 13 pistols; 22 revolvers; seven shotguns; 1,634 rounds of ammunition of varying calibre; 267 persons charged.

ROBBERIES
JANUARY - 298 cases; 32 solved
FEBRUARY - 127 cases; 12 solved 
MARCH - 87 cases; 24 solved
APRIL - 14 cases; none solved
TOTAL: 526 cases; 68 solved

Commissioner Guy has launched a new three-month assault on crime from April to June. He also promised that during the new crime assault, police would be focusing more in ridding the nation of illegal firearms and bringing perpetrators to justice.