Upper West records 74 deaths in motorbike accidents
A total of 74 people lost their lives through accidents involving 187 motorbikes in the Upper West region last year.
Forty seven of the dead, occurred in the Wa Municipality alone.
Two people have already lost their lives through motorbikes accidents in the Municipality this year.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP) Adei Akyeampong, the Upper West Regional Police Commander announced this during the 2011 West African Security Social Activities (WASSA) celebration in Wa last Friday.
He said 284 people sustained various degrees of injuries as a result of accidents involving motorbikes.
DCOP Akyeampong said the region recorded a total number of 1,726 crime cases during the year under review out of which 176 went to court for trial.
Total number of robbery cases decreased from 23 in 2010 to 17 last year while murder cases increased from ten to eleven.
Other crime recorded during the year were – defilement cases 13; rape, five; causing harm, 64; threat of death, 92; threat of harm, 47; unlawful entry, 27; fraud, 53; and stealing, 599 cases.
Illegal abortion, 3; assault, 483; causing damage, 57; abduction, 26; unlawful possession of narcotic drugs, 11; unlawful possession of firearms, five cases and unnatural deaths, five cases.
Arson recoded nine cases, suicide one, attempted murder and robbery, a case each and 195 cases for other offences.
However, no case was recorded in the area of human trafficking and trespassing.
Mr. Akyeampong said the Police would continue to collaborate with stakeholders including the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA), Urban Roads, the National Road Safety Commission (NRSC) as well as transport unions to come out with practical plans to educate road users on road safety.
He added that the Police had already introduced long distance escort operations for commercial drivers plying the Wa-Kumasi road.
This according to him had helped in curbing armed robbery on the highway and accidents as drivers drove with great care.
Mr. David Yakubu, the Chief Director at the Upper West Regional Coordinating Council (RCC), thanked the Police and the other security services for their hard work that had helped in sustaining peace in the region.
He pledged the RCC’s support for the police in their quest to maintain peace in the region and the country as a whole.
Source: GNA