Guyana sees 50 per cent reduction in serious crimes since 2020

– President Ali commends GPF’s progress, urges tougher action on murders, GBV

Guyana has recorded a 50 per cent reduction in serious crimes since 2020, thanks to strategic investments by the government in the Guyana Police Force (GPF).

During the Annual Police Officers’ Conference on Wednesday, President Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali revealed that between 2021 and 2025, serious crimes declined dramatically across most major categories that once defined Guyana’s public safety challenges.

“The most important headline is the scale of the overall reduction,” he said. “During 2016 to 2020, Guyana recorded an average of 2,827 serious crimes per year.  In the subsequent period, that figure fell to 1,441 per year, representing an almost 50 per cent decline,” he added.

President Ali said the reduction was not driven by marginal improvements in isolated categories but was broad-based and significant.

Reductions varied from 55 per cent to 69 per cent in key robbery categories, such as simple robbery, armed robbery, violent robbery, and aggravated robbery.

Armed robbery alone fell from an annual average of over 640 cases between 2016 and 2020 to fewer than 290 cases between 2021 and 2025.

The president said the sharp contraction in street-level and weapon-based robberies was the single largest contributor to the overall crime reduction.

Break-and-Enter offences declined by 57 per cent over the period, pointing to a substantial reduction in everyday criminal activity, particularly economically motivated crimes tied to opportunity and public vulnerability.

“The numbers tell a clear story of commitment translated into results. They reflect a Force that stayed the course. For that reason, they deserve more than an acknowledgement,” the president expressed as he commended the leadership and every other officer in rank.

While the gains were commended, the president cautioned against complacency, urging senior officers:

“We have to bring down the murder rate.” “We have to deal with the growing gangs in our school system. We have to deal decisively with domestic violence and every crime against women,” the president emphasised.

He emphasised the importance of a major public education effort about sexual assault, including what rape is.

Importantly, he argued that this education must begin in the school system, particularly at the secondary level. The issue, he noted, is visible globally and amplified through social media.

President Ali credited the progress made in the last five years to significant financial investment. From 2020 to 2025, the government spent about $141 billion on the police force.

This sustained outlay strengthened policing operations, logistics, crime-fighting capabilities, and institutional capacity to address both traditional and emerging threats.

Looking ahead to 2026, the government has proposed approximately $31.4 billion for the police force

Beyond funding, the government has pursued a qualitative transformation in policing through the integration of technology. These reforms include body-worn cameras for traffic ranks, speed cameras to detect dangerous violations and community surveillance systems that strengthen crime detection and prosecution, among other initiatives.