Kumasi, Jan 11, GNA - The Ashanti Regional branch of the Domestic Violence and Victims' Support Unit (DOVVSU) in 2007 recorded 5,071 cases and this is an increase in domestic-related crimes as compared to that of 2006 that had 2,873 cases.

Out of the number recorded last year, 2,944 of the cases are still under investigation, 1,850 were settled out of court and 277 settled in court. Assistant Superintendent of Police Asare Bediako, Co-ordinator of DOVVSU, told the GNA that crimes recorded during 2007 included offensive conduct, criminal abortion, neglect of parental duty, child exposure to harm, threat of harm, abduction, defilement, incest, bigamy among others. He said the incidence of parental neglect soared recording 1,668 in both 2006 and 2007. Offensive conduct followed with 1,521 in 2007. Mr Bediako said there were 336 defilement cases last year and 288 in 2006.

Other cases such as rape, incest, abduction and criminal abortion were on the low side recording 101 to 16 cases in 2007. He said sodomy, attempted rape, attempted murder, and unnatural carnal knowledge were less than 10 in the past year and appealed to Ghanaians to be law abiding to enable government use money spent on crime for development projects.