Dominican Republic reduces homicides by 7.6%

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic.- Between January and September 2019, the Dominican Republic registered 742 homicides, 57 less than the 799 cases that occurred in the same period of 2018, which represents a 7.6% reduction in these types of crimes, according to the last report published by the Observatory of Citizen Security of the country.

Thus, the incidence rate of homicides is 9.6 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, and they account for almost a quarter (24.35%) of the violent deaths recorded in these three quarters, with a total of 3,047, among the which include deaths in traffic accidents, drowning, electrocutions, and suicides.

FEMINICIDES AND TYPE OF WEAPONS

Of the total number of homicides computed from January to September, 98 victims were women, he says in a report, which lists 58 of these crimes as femicides, which represents a decrease of 11% compared to the same period of the previous year, being the month of July, the one that recorded the highest number of deaths of this type in 2018 and 2019, with 12 and 14 cases respectively.

By type of weapon, the report indicates that 48% of the homicides were committed with some type of firearm; 36% with white weapons, 11% with blunt objects, and the remaining 5% through other unspecified methods.

HOMICIDES ACCORDING TO CIRCUMSTANCES

It is observed that 503 of the homicides occurred due to circumstances derived from living together, which accounts for 68% of the cases and, within this assumption, 75% were motivated by quarrels and confrontations, while 24% correspond to intrafamilial violence and the remaining 1% is due to other causes.

Homicides derived from criminal actions total 253, for 30% of the 742 violent deaths (146 were caused by robbers), while the remaining 2% is attributed to causes that have not been determined, the document said.

In 43% of the deaths related to crimes occurred during a robbery or assault, 25% were motivated by drug matters, 22% occurred in an attempt of robbery or theft, and 5% is attributed to the hired killer of the total, same percentage that is attributed to other causes.

In the Dominican Republic, homicides especially affect the population between 15 and 39 years old, accumulating a total of 421, that is, 59% of cases. Another 38 homicides were below those age ranges and in the rest of the crimes, 132, the victims were 40 years of age and older.

ACCIDENTAL AND INJURY DEATHS

As for accidental deaths, these added a total of 1872 cases, the main cause being traffic accidents, with 1535 deaths “in situ,” for a percentage of 82%, followed by drownings, with 201 deaths, and electrocutions, with 136 cases, representing 11% and 7% of the total, respectively.

The document highlights that 67% of deaths due to traffic accidents result from motorcycles as a means of transport, 14% correspond to abuses, 5% of those killed were traveling in a car, and 14% corresponds to another type of system of travel.

On the other hand, between the months of January and September, 1,586 injured by firearms were recorded, which translates into an increase of 2% over the same period of the previous year; and there were 289 injured by white weapons, for 16% less than the first nine months of the previous year.

The main objective of this bulletin is to document the situation of violence, crime and accident so that the authorities, the security, health, education and justice sectors, with the participation of the academic sector and civil society, NGOs and the media, have elements that allow them to promote strategies and policies to improve these figures.