Zim’s homicide cases  lowest in the world

homicideSifelani Tsiko Senior Writer
Zimbabwe’s homicide rate is among the lowest globally making it one of the world’s most peaceful and safest places to live in.
Even though Zimbabwe’s figures were not captured in a new study by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) on global homicide rates, police spokesperson Chief Superintendent Paul Nyathi, told The Herald they recorded between 30 and 45 murders per month countrywide.
This gives an average of 420 murder cases per annum, which roughly translates to one murder for every 31 000 people and 3,23 per 100 000.

Less than four people are murdered for every 100 000 compared to 31 for South Africa and 33,8 for Swaziland despite its tiny population, according to a new study by the UNODC.

Zimbabwe’s homicide rate is almost half the global average, which stands at 6,2 per 100 000 as reported in the UNODC Global Study on Homicide for 2013.
Chief Supt Nyathi said, “Our cases are not alarming compared to other countries. We are a peaceful country and most of our murder cases arise from domestic disputes.

“We encourage Zimbabweans to resolve domestic disputes amicably. Our murder cases are isolated and at times involve cases of say someone killing another person over $1 or some petty issues after a beer drink or a domestic dispute.”

Masvingo Province, where 59 people were murdered in 2013, had the highest number of murders and attempted murders in the country, police said.
An August 2013 police report showed that 263 murders were recorded in the first half of last year compared to 280 over the same period in 2012.

UNODC homicide data for Zimbabwe was last released in 2008 when the country had a murder rate of 14,3 per 100 000.
Using current trends, a person is twice as likely to be murdered in the US than in Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe’s homicide rate is a quarter of Africa’s average.

About 14 827 people were murdered in 2012 in the United States down from 24 526 in 1993, but the 2012 murder rate — 4,7 murders per 100 000 people — was significantly higher than in most wealthy nations.

The comparable rate is 0,4 in Japan, 0,8 in Germany, one in Australia, 1,1 in France and 1,2 in Britain.
The US is one of the world’s most heavily-armed nations, with between one-third and 50 percent of Americans owning guns.

According to the UNODC Global Study on Homicide for 2013, some 437 000 people were killed worldwide in 2012 and almost half of these murders took place in countries with just 11 per cent of the global population.

Men made up almost eight out of every 10 homicide victims, while women accounted for vast majority of domestic violence fatalities.

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