Eastern Regional Police Command has revealed that sixty-three (63) people were murdered in 2016 in the region.

The murder cases recorded even though frightening was a reduction by five compared to 68 murder cases recorded in 2015.

The Eastern Regional Police Commander, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) George Alex Mensah, made this known when addressing the annual West Africa Security Service Association (WASSA) organised by the Eastern Regional Police Command last week Friday.

According to him, robbery cases in the region also witnessed a decline from 115 in 2015 to 106 in 2016 while stealing was also reduced from 5,158 in 2015 to 4,675 in 2016.

According to the regional commander, in 2016, 276 cases of unlawful entries were recorded in the region, a reduction of 153 compared to 2015 figures.

He said domestic crimes, particularly defilement, also witnessed a very significant decrease from 211 recorded in 2015 to 121 during the year under review.

ACP Alex Mensah mentioned that despite these feat, motor traffic cases increased from 1229 (2015) to 1284 in 2016 which involved 1766 and 1811 vehicles respectively in 2015 and 2016.

Out of these motor traffic cases recorded, fatal accidents recorded in 2016 were 282 an increase of 82 cases compared to 2015 figures, he disclosed.

The regional commander also sadly mentioned that 346 pedestrians were knocked down to death by vehicles in 2016 in the region compared to 222 cases recorded in 2015.

ACP Mensah acknowledged that 2016 was a challenging year considering the fact that it was an election year for the country, however, the police rolled out several security measures in 2016 which led to reduction of crime in the region.

He said the region was confronted with several chieftaincy disputes, rancour between farmers and Fulani herdsmen, Indian herm cultivation, suspected crime hideouts and galamsey activities.