· Overall crime in Northern Ireland has increased by 4.3%
· Lowest level of injury road traffic collisions in ten years, down 4.2%
· Vehicle crime is down 17.3%
· Burglary is down 4.1%
· Drugs seizures are up 15.2%
· Violent Crime is up 5.8%
· Clearance rate for violent crime has increased from 51.1% to 53.9%.
· Criminal damage is up 10.7%
· There were 936 racial incidents in 2005/06 an increase of 123 crimes, 15.1%
· There were 746 racially motivated crimes, an increase of 112 which is 17.7%
· Crime is down by 14% since 2002/03

Releasing the official statistics for the la-*test*-('") period the Chief Constable said that he was disappointed that overall crime is up this year:

‘’Clearly I am disappointed that despite a reduction of 14% over the past three years, this year our figures show a rise of 4.3% in overall crime. Any increase in crime must always be a matter of concern to police. We will pay close attention to this and we will work harder on crimes which have gone up.’’

Commenting on the figures the Chief Constable said that analysis of the reasons for the increase paints a complex picture. An increase of 5,070 crimes over the 12 months includes the following:

· For the first time, breaches of non-molestation orders are included in the crime figures (1,415 of extra reports of crime).

· There were 600 offences attributable to the incidents around the Whiterock Parade last September alone.

· There were 1,112 more reports of domestic violence which would appear to indicate an increased willingness of victims to report this crime. It also follows a number of police initiatives and high profile campaigns designed to encourage victims to report crimes to police throughout the year.

· Proactive police action and initiatives in two areas led to an extra 348 drugs offences being recorded.

The Chief Constable said that there had been significant successes throughout the year in reducing vehicle crime, burglary and increasing drugs seizures:

‘There should be some reassurance in the fact that burglary figures have continued to fall this year again, they are down 4.1%, vehicle crime is down by over 17% and police have seized 15.2% more drugs, these are crimes which research shows people worry about.’’

Highlighting some of the initiatives which led to reductions in crime the Chief Constable said that it was only through working in partnership with the community that local solutions to local problems would be found.

‘‘We are developing new ways of working with the community. In Coleraine we are working with the Community Safety partnership and the Housing Executive to turn derelict houses into a boxing club, that helps reduce criminal damage and anti-social behaviour in the area in all sorts of ways. In Tandragee during the summer we will run the Midnight Football scheme again this year.’‘

‘’ As a society we are going to have to continue working together to bring levels of anti-social behaviour down, it is a problem in itself but it is also a precursor for criminal damage offences.’’

The Chief Constable also commented on an increase in confidence in some communities which was resulting in greater numbers of crimes being brought to the attention of police:

‘‘A considerable amount of effort has gone into reaching out to minority groups and communities who may not have reported crime to police in the past. It could be that some part of the increase in the number of incidents reported is at least a reflection of the growing confidence those communities have in reporting such incidents to police. ‘

‘’We also see this effect with Domestic Violence figures, whilst no incidence of domestic violence is acceptable, if it is happening then the police want to know about it. If the increase is a sign of increased reporting and increased confidence in police then that is positive. We have developed a number of high profile initiatives over the year specifically designed to encourage all victims of domestic violence to report it to police.’’

‘‘We are working more and more with communities to reduce crime and we will continue to do that. By working together with communities we are capable of reducing crime and making Northern Ireland a safer place.’’