Uganda Police Force (UPF) has strongly denied claims made by the Daily Monitor regarding the 2024 Annual Crime Report labeling them as “baseless and fabricated.”
The argument which has sparked public debate centers around the accuracy of crime statistics and the interpretation of the report’s findings.
Daily Monitor’s article reportedly alleged that the police crime report suggested a decline in violent crimes such as homicides, robberies and rape.
However in a detailed counterstatement, the Uganda Police stated this was false and misleading.
According to their official figures, homicides increased from 4,248 in 2023 to 4,329 in 2024 a 1.9% rise, robberies surged from 7,772 in 2023 to 8,163 in 2024 a 5% increase and rape cases spiked from 1,577 in 2023 to 1,667 in 2024 a 5.7% rise. The police maintain that these numbers clearly indicate rising crime rates not a decrease.
Another major point of contention was the alleged failure to report suicides. Daily Monitor criticized the report for omitting suicide-related statistics.
However, police argues that to report suicides in a crime report would be a contradiction in terms given that Ugandan law does not recognize suicide as a criminal offence.
Section 188 of Uganda’s Penal Code Act defines murder as the unlawful killing of another person with malice aforethought. While the Penal Code does not explicitly define suicide as an offence it does address related acts.
While suicide itself is not a crime, police do record attempted suicides and suicide pacts which fall under Sections 210 and 195 of the Penal Code Act. In 2024, there were 218 cases of attempted suicide a fact that was included in the report.
Perhaps the most explosive claim made by the Daily Monitor was that some unit commanders questioned the accuracy of the statistics.
Uganda Police passionately dismissed this claim stating that all data comes directly from local police posts, stations and units which are equipped with official data capture tools (police forms/books) that are regularly filed, updated and submitted to CID Headquarters.
This ensures all crime records from the lowest levels are captured throughout the entire data capture process enabling the accurate generation of Police Reports.
They emphasized that crime statistics are not estimations but actual documented cases meticulously recorded and digitally managed through a comprehensive crime records management system.
The statistics originate from unit commanders who are responsible for reporting crimes within their jurisdictions.
The strong language in the police response suggests growing tensions between law enforcement and the media. By calling the Daily Monitor article “misleading” and “aimed at damaging the reputation of the Uganda Police Force,” UPF has taken an unusually aggressive stance.
The Daily Monitor has yet to formally respond to the Uganda Police’s counterstatement but the debate over crime statistics is far from over.
