Latest statistics from Rwanda National Police show that crime in general has continued to fall nationally, with numbers of reported incidents falling by 7.7 per cent between September and November.

Briefing journalists at Police headquarters in Kacyiru, yesterday, Theos Badege, the head of Criminal investigation Department (CID), said the fall in crime is projected to continue next year.

"High levels crime rates, which include human and drug trafficking, domestic violence, and corruption have reduced by 5. 4 per cent. While other crimes such as, drug abuse, assault and embezzlement among others have reduced by 5.4 per cent,” Badege said.

"Generally, crime trends in the country have reduced by 7.7 per cent especially during the last quarter of this year. We hope that—with more efforts from all stakeholders and stiff safety and security measures—the trends will continue to go down in the following days.”

Disseminated figures further show that drug trafficking had 1. 4 per cent reduction rate from January to October, corruption reduced by two per cent and human trafficking remained at 0.2 per cent.

Badege noted that even though the crime figures are going down, the national police and other security organs would continue the fight against so called "high level crimes.”

"We (RNP) commend the general public for their role in making community policing a success. Since the establishment of the community policing program, it has been easy to identify and respond to security concerns in communities, and with the establishment of local security ambassadors, we can only expect the elimination of even the sophisticated crimes that include human trafficking and so on,” Badege added.

Police warn of speeding, drink driving during festive season

Meanwhile, Police have also warned that strong penalties await automotive owners who will break traffic rules and regulations during festive season.

The strict measures have been provoked by increase in the number of road accidents that have been registered in the last quarter of this year, according to George Rumanzi, the commissioner for Traffic and Road Safety deparment.

Figures from RNP indicated that 137 people have lost their lives in 283 accidents registered since September to November, and the high rate of death has been caused by over speeding and drink-driving, according to Rumanzi.

"Generally, fewer accidents have been registered since September to November this year, as compared to the previous quarters of this year. Unfortunately, death rates alarming; these fewer accidents caused the highest number of deaths in the country,” Rumanzi said.

"The most infamous accidents that claimed a lot of people between September and November are five in total, which include, an accident in Rwamagana in September that claimed 19 lives, another in Ngororero which killed four people and left 10 others injured and one in Gicumbi that claimed seven lives and left two injured.

He said Traffic Police wants to ensure that the festive season is safe, especially on the roads, and that Police will increase presence on the roads and target drink-driving, speeding and reckless driving such as dangerous overtaking.

"We call upon the public to be conscious when moving because most of the accidents that claimed many lives involved commercial and public transporters. There is a lot of moving expected during festivals; the excitement is too high and that includes drinking sprees, so we would not want road accidents to rise. The public should be careful,” he said.

Rumanzi also warned drivers of the heavy rainy season as predicted by meteorologists, saying roads could be slippery and with a lot of fog upcountry, motorists need to use headlights.

Police Spokesperson Celestin Twahirwa echoed Rumanzi’s comments, saying they would heavily deploy in the city and across the country to police during the festive season.

"We have been planning for holiday season diligently because we know that criminals tend to exploit this season to look for money to spend on festivities,” Twahirwa noted.

He said no commercial or public transporter would be allowed on the road without speed governors.

"We are in talks with regional traffic bodies and transport operators to ensure that every commercial car that travels to Rwanda has a varied technical control certificate. This will reduce accidents too,” said Twahirwa.

Police urged pedal cyclists to stick to demarcated lanes because they tend to cause most of the accidents in the city.

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