Unreported cases of rape, attempted rape and other sex related crimes that allegedly occurred two decades ago are now surfacing.
Police Commissioner, Brigadier General Sitiveni Qiliho says people are coming forward to report these cases as they now have confidence in the justice system.
Qiliho says one of the cases dated back to 1997 which was an indecent assault case.
“In fact 14% of the cases that were reported last year were committed outside the reporting period of 1st Jan – 31st Dec 2017. They were mainly sexual offenses and rape recording the highest of 169 cases.”
Qiliho says people should not shy away from reporting such crimes as some are indictable offenses.
“This is indicative of the faith victims are having in the justice system and coming forward to report these crimes. We do understand that there are others remain unreported and I urge anyone who is conflicted on whether to come forward or not, that you can call me directly so we see justice prevail as no one should get away with these heinous crimes.”
He says that a total of 2,412 cases were committed between the years 1997 to 2016.
Qiliho reiterated that overall crime rates have been reduced by nine percent despite the many hurdles faced by the force.
