Uganda’s annual crime rate dropped by 8.9 percent in 2020 from the previous year, according to a new police report.
The 2020 Annual Crime Report released Monday says that 195,931 cases were reported to police in 2020, compared to 215,224 cases reported in 2019.
Inspector General of Police Martin Okoth Ochola attributed the drop to the COVID-19 lock down measures and the installation of surveillance equipment.
A total of 41,950 theft cases were reported in 2020, down 24.6 percent from the 55,704 cases reported in 2019, according to the report.
The report also shows that 1,714 narcotic related cases were reported last year, compared to 2,750 cases reported in 2019.
Ochola said the report would help the force understand better and analyze the emerging crime trends both nationally and locally however the general public attributes the crime fall to the curfew enforcement procedures.
Okello Joseph a senior citizen from Mukono says that curfew forces most of the people and economic activity to shut down which forces criminal offenders indoors.
He also said that the roadblocks that enforce curfew have become deterring factors to thieves and other criminals especially those that use motor vehicles and bikes.
“A thief cannot commit a robbery or murder and run for long before he is stopped at a road block. These road blocks might be inconveniencing but they have contributed to reduced crime especially at night,” he said.
However, some people credit the vigilance of the security and intelligence arms of the nation which due to the Presidential General elections and Covid-19 Sops, were on ground more than other ordinary times.