Road deaths down by 9%, murders up by 5% – police

An overall decrease of 9% in road deaths has been recorded at the end of November this year in comparison to last year but murders are up by 5%, police said on Monday.

In a statement, the police said that the total number of reports of serious crimes made by November 30 this year was 3478 compared to 3507 at the end of November last year.

A total of 119 murders were recorded at the end of November 2011 in comparison to 125 murders for the same period this year; a 5% increase.

The force said that of the 125 murders, 55 were of the disorderly type, 10 were committed during armed robberies, 24 were domestic-related and nine were execution type. It said that the cause of 27 others is still to be determined.

Robbery under arms has risen by 22% unto November 2012, with 968 reports compared to 796 for the same period in 2011. The statistics also reveal an increase of 15% in the number of armed robberies involving the use of firearms, and a 33% jump in armed robberies where instruments other than firearms were used by the perpetrators.

In relation to traffic, there has been a 9% decline in road fatalities up to the end of November this year in comparison to the same period last year, with 98 fatalities this year and 108 last year. The year also continues to see reductions in relation to the other categories of traffic accidents – serious, minor and damage.

Pedestrians are the main road users affected with 29 of them having died on the roads by the end of November this year. In addition 17 pedal cyclists, 14 motor cyclists and 20 drivers of motor vehicles have also lost their lives unto November this year.

Speeding continues to be a major factor in fatal accidents, causing 70 of the 90 fatal accidents at the end of November this year.

Traffic enforcement by the police has resulted in a total of 63,439 cases being made against errant motorists by the end of November this year; of this total, 13,664 cases were for speeding.

An additional five road fatalities have been recorded so far for the month of December 2012.