Eastern region police assistant public relations officer, Tionge Kayenda, says murder cases have risen by 80 percent while defilement cases registered a 15 percent increase, which she describes as worrisome.

"Machinga has registered 9 murder cases were registered between January and June 2021 as compared to 5 cases registered same period in 2020.

"68 defilement cases have been registered up from 59 cases of same period last year," said Kayenda.

She however says criminal cases in general have decreased in the past 6 months by 10 percent having recorded 584 down from 651 of same period last year 2020.

Machinga police station research and planning officer, Inspector Damiano Paluma, attributes the decrease to increased police visibility in most crime prone areas.

Paluma said: "Apart from police visibility, our good working relationship with the community has also contributed to this crime reduction."