Mozambique: Crime rate falls in 2020 to 55 crimes per 100,000 inhabitants – INE

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Mozambique: Crime rate falls in 2020 to 55 crimes per 100,000 inhabitants – INE

4:55 CAT | 29 Jun 2021

File photo: Lusa

The crime rate in Mozambique last year fell to 55 crimes per 100,000 inhabitants, from 61 per 100,000 in 2019, according to a new bulletin published by the National Statistics Institute (INE) and consulted on Tuesday by Lusa.

The number of inmates in the country’s prisons fell by 6% to 25,615 and the number of cases pending in the country’s courts swelled by 11% to 125,141.

The data relating to criminality is based on monthly surveys of provincial police commands and does not reflect the armed conflicts ravaging districts in the north and centre of the country. Based on these surveys, the total number of crimes recorded fell from 17,993 to 16,624, with the vast majority being reported in the Maputo region.

The city of Maputo recorded 35 crimes per 100,000 inhabitants, Maputo province 9 per 100,000 and Gaza Province 2 per 100,000.

In Cabo Delgado, Sofala and Manica, where there are armed conflicts, the provincial commands registered fewer than 2 per 100,000 inhabitants.

The percentage of crimes that were cleared up stood at 86% last year, compared to 85% in 2019.

Crimes against property accounted for 55% of the total recorded, followed by crimes against people (30%) and crimes against tranquillity and public order (9.3%), with 4.7% representing other types of offences.

Crimes against tranquillity and public order were the only crimes that rose in number last year, to 5 per 100,000 inhabitants from a rate of 3 the previous year, according to police records.

All other types of crime were less frequent, resulting in the overall drop. Although the report does not specifically refer to Covid-19, the period in question coincides with the year when the pandemic prompted the imposition of various restrictions on people’s movement to prevent the spread of respiratory disease.