High poverty triggers crime increase, says Police

from the Nyasa Times

Charles Kufa

Malawi's level of poverty continues to rise under the administration of President Bingu Mutharika, sparking an increase in incidents of crime, a police crime analysis report says.

Presenting the report of the last quarter of 2007 and first quarter of 2008 to the Court Users Committee (CUC) in Dedza, the district Police Station Officer Charles Chabvuta disclosed that offences such as unlawful wounding, burglary and theft were very high.

"The station registered 368 cases in the last quarter of 2007, showing that on average 122 cases were being committed per month and four cases per day while in the first quarter of 2008, 403 cases were registered," he said.

He said crime was increasing at the rate of 8.7 percent, and attributed this to poverty and abuse of democratic freedoms.

"Out of the registered cases, 99 were taken before court while the rest were still pending in court," he said.

Chabvuta said the law enforcers were vigilant in their work.

He therefore warned that police will continue tracking down any person with intent to cause disturbance and unrest.

Chairperson of CUC, Bright Kampaundi, commended the police for carrying out their duties professionally in Dedza.

Kampaundi then asked courts to speed up processing of cases to ensure that justice prevails on the part of the complainants and the accused.