Police in Machinga have urged community members to join hands with the police in fight against defilement and murder cases which have risen in the district.

This has been said as the district was analyzing the cases that have been registered during the first half of the year.

“During the period under review 9 murder cases were registered in 2021 as compared to 5 cases registered in 2020 representing 80% increase”.

“On defilement cases, the station registered a total of 68 cases during the past six months as compared to 59 cases registered in 2020 representing 15% increase” he said.

According to station research and Planning Officer Inspector Damiano Paluma, although this is the case, the district has managed to register a decrease of 10% in criminal cases which he attributed to the increased police visibility in all crime prone areas.

“The station has registered a total of 584 cases from January to June this year, while in 2020 651 cases were registered during the same period” Paluma said.

He further said good working relationship between police and the community has also contributed to the reduction of crime in the district