The 2021 Public Safety and Crime report has revealed that the Ashanti Region recorded the highest number of murder cases out of over 200 murder cases recorded last year, across the country.

The Bureau of Public Safety in its 2021 report said the region recorded 23 percent of all homicide cases reported across the country last year.

According to the Bureau, violent crimes reported in 2021 was 531 cases, an increase of 40.8% as compared to 377 cases in 2020. Its associated deaths also increased by 53.7 percent.

The report also revealed that the Greater Accra and Ashanti regions reported the highest incidents of armed robberies last year – each region reported 19% of over 150 armed robbery cases in 2021.

In the case of firearms usage, the Bureau identified that 74 percent of reported armed robbery cases involved the use of fire arms while 20 percent of homicide cases involving murder and manslaughter had to do with the use of firearms.

In the report, the top three most reported violent crimes in 2021 are; murder/manslaughter, armed robbery and aggravated assault.

Meanwhile, the Bureau in the report noted that generally, drowning, illegal mining pit collapses, and building collapses, were the top three frequently reported incidents in 2021.

Drowning accounted for 43% of deaths in the General Index category, with mining pit collapses and building collapses being 17% and 9% respectively.