In the second quarter of the year, Muchinga and Copperbelt provinces led the country’s murder log, each recording 23 homicides, ahead of 22 for Central and 20 each for Lusaka and Eastern provinces. Murder was also recorded in Southern (15), Western (14), North-Western (13), Luapula (10), and Northern (9) provinces.
According to statistics released by the Zambia Police Service, 17,833 criminal cases were logged countrywide, an increase of 10% from last year’s 16,203 cases over the same period.
Police spokesperson Rae Hamoonga said Lusaka Province reported the highest number of crimes at 5,463, accounting for 30.63% of the total.
Lusaka topped in aggravated robbery crimes, logging 87 cases with Eastern and Copperbelt provinces a distant joint second at 26 and 25 cases respectively.
Lusaka had the most of the recorded 47 rape incidents at 9, followed by Central and Southern provinces with 7 each. Western Province had one – the least number of recorded rape offenses.
The police records show that property valued at K168,541,539 was stolen in quarter two of 2024 compared to K121,834,442 in the comparative period in 2023. Out of this, K22,362,029 worth of property was recovered against K43,708,791 in 2023. Property damages were consistent in the two periods, with a value of K3,362,336.
The number of arrests slightly declined between 2023 and 2024 from 55.29% (8,959) to 53.29% (9,504%).
