Crime Stats
The number of crimes in which a firearm was used mushroomed from 2004 to 2006, according to a recent official report by the Ministry of Interior, submitted to parliamentary deputies. The report attributed the increase of crime in Yemen to the continued spread of weapons. “There was a direct relationship between the proliferation of firearms and the proliferation of different kinds of crime, in that more criminal offenses increased in areas that have spread of the phenomenon of carrying a firearm,” the report said.
The crimes and murders in which a weapon was used during the three last years totaled 31,711 crimes, including 24,623 crimes involving the use of some kind of firearm. This means that 77.65 percent of all crimes involved weapons, said the report. The crimes involving the use of weapons such as big sticks, axes, deadly toxic materials, hanging, and other weapons came to a total of 7,088 crimes. This means that 22.35 percent of all crimes involve this sort of weaponry. “Such crimes resulted in many human and material losses,” according to the report. The report also showed that 23,577 deaths and injuries resulted from the use of a firearm from 2004 to 2006 and firearms were involved in 84.72 percent of all deaths and injuries.
