THE Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (ZimStat) says police recorded a surge in criminal activities with Bulawayo, Harare and the Midlands province recording the highest number of cases.
ZimStat acting director-general Aluwisio Mukavhi said more than 200 000 offences were committed in the first three months of the year.
“The police recorded 221,704 offences over the period from January to March 2024,” Mukavhi said.
“The recorded offences rose by 108 cases from 221,596 offences recorded in the fourth quarter of 2023.
“The national crime rate was 1,460.6 crimes per 100,000 people, a slight uptick from 1,459.9 per 100,000 observed in the fourth quarter of 2023.
“This implies that for every 100,000 people, 1,461 crimes were recorded.”
He said the crime rate for offences committed against public order and state security was 578.7 per 100,000 population, a decline from 587.9 per 100,000 recorded in the fourth quarter of 2023.
Mukavhi said vulnerability to crime varied by province.
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“In Harare, Bulawayo and Midlands Provinces, vulnerability to crime was above the national average,” he said.
“The crime rate in Harare Province nearly doubled the national crime rate, at 2,877.5 per 100,000 people against the national average of 1,460.6.”
Mukavhi said of the 221,704 cases recorded in the first quarter of 2024, crimes against public safety and state security were the most common with 87,834 cases recorded.
“The second most common type of crime recorded was acts against property only, with 53,975 cases. Acts leading to harm or intending to cause harm to the person were 41,143.”
Mukavhi said the total number of persons charged by the police for all offences was 164,461, of which 88 per cent were male.
“The rate for charged persons for all offences increased to 1,083.5 per 100,000 people from 1,068.7 in the previous quarter,” he said.
“The rate for charged males for all offences was 1,975.9 persons per 100,000 males, while it was 259 for females, using the same weight.”
