Slight reduction in crime figures say PSNI

With 8,028 crimes reported, there were 149 fewer victims of crime, Chief Inspector Jon Burrows, the Area Commander, said.

Chief Inspector Burrows said the crimes reflected reductions in violence with injury down by 171, theft down by 101, burglary down by 75 and criminal damage, down by 248.

“There are, though, some areas that continue to concern us and one of those is the number of incidents of violence that did not lead to injury. We saw an increase of 171 incidents and many of those are associated with overindulgence in alcohol and the night time economy. These are areas we will be looking at.

“The number of drugs offences detected also increased by 84, which also reflects the priority we give to them. In 2013/14 we seized around a quarter of a million pounds worth of drugs and made almost 300 arrests. That is a measure of our response, and it is a priority that people in the Derry community share,” CI Burrows said.

Overall, there has been a 4.1 per cent reduction in crime in G District.

In the District that covers the Foyle, Limavady, Magherafelt and Strabane areas, 12,786 crimes were reported, 552 fewer than the previous financial year.

G District was one of only three in Northern Ireland to show a drop in crime. In Northern Ireland as a whole, the number of crimes increased by 2.3 per cent.

Some of the main reductions in G District included: Violence with injury fell by 10.5 per cent, theft fell by 4.3 per cent, burglary fell by 14.8 per cent and criminal damage by 16 per cent.

There were, however, increases in the number if sexual offences, equivalent to an increase of 14 per cent, vehicle offences, 8.9 per cent and shoplifting at 16.9 per cent. The number of drugs offences detected increased by 7.5 per cent.

The total value of drugs seized in G District in 2013/14 was £631,000. In all, 629 seizures were made and there were 443 arrests.

One area where there was a significant reduction compared to other district was in anti-social behaviour incidents, with 1,558 fewer incidents than this time last year

Chief Superintendent Stephen Cargin, the District Commander, said the figures reflected a continuation of good relationships between local police and local communities.

“As well as being one of three Districts in Northern Ireland that showed a reduction in crime, G District had the highest overall outcomes rate of 34.3 per cent. That is up on the previous year and G District is sitting at 7.1 per cent above the Service average.

“I do appreciate that while the level of reported crime has fallen, there is still criminal activity throughout the District and there are still people who have been victims of crime.

“We want to prevent crime occurring and to investigate and detect those behind it. Local communities can help by being aware of crime, taking sensible precautions and reporting incident and information to police.”