Minister of National Security Comments on Crime Situation

John Saldivar

While crime has been prevalent throughout 2015, the murder count is slightly less than 2014 so far. There were one hundred and twenty murders last year and that number this year stands at one hundred and sixteen with two weeks more to the end of the year. Minister Saldivar says that major crimes are down.

John Saldivar, Minister of National Security

“Our crime comparative statistic report as of November shows that all major crimes with the exception of murder are below last year’s figures. In 2014, the total major crimes were two thousand two hundred and eighty-seven up to the end of November. The 2015 figure shows two thousand and twenty-seven, a difference of two hundred and sixty less major crimes. When you study the statistics on major crimes since 2008, you would observe a steady decline in major crimes from three thousand one hundred and twenty-six in 2008 to three thousand one hundred and eighteen in 2009 to two thousand four hundred and forty-seven in 2010; two thousand three hundred and twenty-four in 2011, two thousand two hundred and fifty-nine in 2012 and two thousand two hundred and twenty-seven in 2013. I can also report to you that as of today, our murder count for 2015 stands at a hundred and sixteen. With two weeks remaining in this year, we are confident that we will be below last year’s figures and may very well turn out to be the second best year for us as a department since 2008. We may also observe that most of those one hundred and sixteen murders took place in the first half of 2015; we have gotten a grip on this by reducing it from seventy-six in the first six months of 2015 to only forty in the last six months of 2015 with two weeks remaining.”