HGP Nightly News – Guyana ended 2025 with a noticeably deadlier profile than the year before, according to final crime and traffic statistics released by the Guyana Police Force (GPF); figures that show increases in both murders and road-traffic fatalities compared with 2024.
The GPF confirmed that 130 murders were recorded in 2025; an 11% increase over the 117 murders reported in 2024, based on previous government disclosures. That upward swing signals a troubling escalation in lethal violence, reversing a slight decline seen the year before. Domestic homicides and gang-linked shootings were cited by monitoring sources as key drivers.
On the nation’s roads, the situation was even more stark. Police reported 124 accidents that resulted in 137 deaths in 2025, compared with 97 road fatalities in 2024. That translates to a 41% increase in traffic deaths year-over-year, a jump that spotlights worsening road safety and vehicle-related risk across the country.
Taken together, the data paints a picture of 2025 as a year in which both violent crime and roadway lethality surged; a dual public safety challenge gripping communities from urban centres to rural highways.
The GPF stressed that the released figures are part of a formal process of compilation, verification, and approval designed to ensure accuracy before public release. It also noted that while provisional trends were shared during the Christmas policing briefing in November 2025, the year was not yet formally closed and all numbers were undergoing final reconciliation.
Beyond raw counts, law-enforcement analysts and civil-society observers have pointed to deeper trends embedded in the data: increased firearm use in violent confrontations, high-speed and reckless driving patterns on poorly lit roads, and gaps in emergency medical response that can mean the difference between life and death following severe accidents.
While the statistics themselves are now verified, the broader national conversation is just beginning: what structural changes, enforcement strategies, and community interventions will be required to reverse these rising death tolls in 2026?
The Guyana Police Force says it remains committed to providing accurate, verifiable information to the media and the public as part of efforts to improve transparency and inform strategies for crime reduction and road safety moving forward.
