Cases of domestic violence, rape and defilement shot up in Uganda, the newly released 2021 Annual Crime Report indicates.
Released earlier today, the report indicates that 17,533 cases of domestic violence were reported last year compared to 17,664 cases which were reported in 2020. Of those, 3103 cases were of male adults, 12,877 were female adults, 871 male were juveniles and 702 female juveniles.
At least 1486 cases of rape were reported at the various polices stations in the country. A total of 1396 were females while 90 were female juveniles. The report shows that a total of 1668 narcotic related cases were registered compared to 1714 which were recorded in 2020. A total of 23887.83kg of narcotics was seized at Entebbe Airport compared to 41.96kgs seized in 2020.
The report indicates that defilement cases went up in 2021 compared to 2020. 14,570 cases were reported compared to 14,230 cases in 2020. In tandem, 759 murders by mob cases were recorded last year compared to 540 cases in 2020 while 302 murders by shooting cases are under review compared to 449 in 2020.
According to the Report, 13 organized criminal syndicates were dismantled in 2021. They operated in areas of Kampala Metropolitan, Mityana, Kiboga, Mbarara and Fort Portal among other areas. This brings the total of organised criminal syndicates dismantled since 2018 to 45.
Speaking at the launch of the report, the Inspector General of Police (IGP) Martins Okoth Ochola said there was a 0.1% increase in the volume of crimes reported to Police from 195,931 cases reported in the year 2020 to 196,081 cases in 2021. These crime trends were greatly influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak and the subsequent opening of all sectors of the economy. The details on management and performance, Crime distribution, status and gravity of the reported cases are all discussed in the Report.
He said police will improve the quality of services we offer to the public, engage communities through our community policing programs aimed at building a stronger trust between the police and the population and enhance officer training to improve the use of modern technologies.
“We shall digitalize and integrate crime records for purposes of easy detection, reporting, tracking, supervision and analysis of crime trends.”
Since crime management is not a single spine function for the Criminal Investigations Directorate, Ochola said all Police Directorates are required to play their respective roles towards crime management and reduction, setting crime performance targets and standards against which they will be periodically measured. For quick and effective monitoring of crime trends, the Police Management also plans to release quarterly crime reports to the public.
Critically, challenges of staff welfare, motivation and satisfaction are relevant in policing. The Uganda Police Force management is focusing on improving the welfare of all its personnel especially addressing the pertinent question of accommodation to achieve good staff performance and satisfaction.
The Police is also faced with challenges in its efforts to tackle crime and some of these are internal, others are external while others are within the criminal justice chain.
He applauded the entire Police fraternity for continuing to keep the country safe and urged Ugandans to continue the fight against crime for a safer Uganda.
“I also convey my gratitude to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, sister security Agencies, JLOS Partners, the media and the public for their support in fighting crime.”
