by Linda Straker
- RGPF achieved 74.8% solvency rate in overall crime in 2024
- 2024 successes attributed to intelligence lead operations and community policing partnerships
- Next chapter of RGPF will be written by current serving men and women
For 2024, the Royal Grenada Police Force (RGPF) said there was 1.6% increase in reported crimes when compared to 2023, but at the same time it achieved a 74.8% solvency rate in overall crime.
“I am delighted to report that last year’s crime statistics have been computed and analysed. We have achieved a 74.8% solvency rate in overall crime,” said Acting Commissioner of Police Randy Connaught.
Sharing data at the ceremony to commission the new headquarters on The Carenage on Friday, 28 March, Connaught said that the successes the force experienced in 2024 are attributed to intelligence lead operations and the collaborative efforts of those in community policing partnerships.
He disclosed that the RGPF confiscated a record 61 firearms in 2024. “Nine of which were turned in during the period of the amnesty,” he told the attendees at the ceremony which included Governor-General Dame Cecile La Grenade and Head of Government and Minister for National Security Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell.
Connaught said that drug seizures for the said period more than doubled, and arrest and charges was done for 17 of the homicides which occurred in 2024. “We have cleared up all but one of the 18 homicides reported last year. That is not to say we are not aware of who the suspect is; it is just beyond our reach,” he said. “Notwithstanding all of this we had a 1.6% in overall reported crimes,” Connaught announced without disclosing the number of reported crimes from 2023.
Though the full quantity of drugs confiscated was not provided, a review of press releases during the years showed that drugs worth millions have been confiscated by the Police. For example, in an official release in May 2024, the RGPF said, on Thursday, 2 May 2024, that “officers attached to the Drug Squad conducted an operation which led to the discovery of two cardboard boxes, containing 20 blocks of cocaine.” The cocaine weighed 22.2 kgs with an estimated street value of $2,220,000. In another operation on the same day, Drug Squad officers intercepted a vehicle travelling along Mt Parnassus Public Road and a search revealed a black bag containing 5 blocks of cocaine. “The cocaine weighed 5kg and carries an estimated street value of $500,000,” said the release.
The Acting Commissioner said that as the force forges ahead, the next chapter of the RGPF will be written by the current serving men and women on the journey forward. “Our transformative outlook will have a direct impact on the quality of service. This will be determined through assertiveness, greater efficiency, higher professional and ethical standards and most of all humility and respect for each and every citizen.”