Commissioner of Police Paul Rolle said yesterday that crime is down in nearly all categories except rape.
While he could not provide exact figures, Rolle said murders were down roughly 38 percent when he last checked and armed robberies down 54 percent.
“It’s safe to say all of those categories are down with the exception, I think, of rape, where I believe the number was up by one,” he said.
“Across the board, house break-ins, shop break-ins, assaults, domestic complaints, they were all down.”
Rolle said the number of complaints of social gatherings, which are outlawed by the COVID-19 emergency order, has also been decreasing.
“We have seen a marked decrease in the amount of incidents,” he said.
“Every week, we keep getting less and less and that’s a good sign. I like what I’m seeing because we don’t have to be constantly confronting persons for those breaches. So, that’s a good thing.”
While Rolle did not want to comment specifically on a recent incident in which a police officer was depicted pulling the hair of a woman as police shut down a crowded Charms lounge, Rolle said people should not confront the police.
“I do want to encourage persons to desist from confronting the police,” he said.
“We have our duties to do, and the law provides for police officers to use force if necessary. We hate to have to do that but when things happen and people, a lot of times, they get a little inebriated.
“That’s no excuse as far as I’m concerned because you can’t expect to just assault an officer because you’re drunk and don’t have the officer take action. So, if you don’t know how much to drink, don’t drink at all.”
