Assault cases rise in Upper West Region

Statistics  from the Domestic Violence and Victim Support Unit (DOVVSU) of the Ghana Police Service has revealed that assault cases in the Upper West Region increased from 179 cases in 2017 to 196 in 2018.

Domestic stealing cases also increased from 17 in 2017 to 27 in 2018, while cases involving parents abandoning children went up from 62 to 71 in 2018.

Threat to death cases also rose from 35 to 44 in 2018 with cases of causing harm equally increasing beyond the four cases recorded in 2017.

Rape cases

The Station Officer for DOVVSU in the region, Inspector Niabi Stella, in an interview with the Ghana News Agency, said rape cases reported to the unit, however, reduced to six in 2018 as against 15 reported cases in 2017.

Abduction cases also reduced from 28 in 2017 to 10 in 2018 and 15 defilement cases were reported to the unit in 2017 and 2018

Inspector Niabi said in all, 450 cases were reported to the unit in 2018 as against 452 cases reported to the unit in 2017 out of which 79 were closed, 20 sent to court and six people convicted.

However, 13 cases are awaiting trial while 381 cases are still under investigation.

She entreated residents of the region to volunteer information to the unit to enable officers to pursue cases in court and prosecute offenders. — GNA