PSNI Successes Welcome - Despite Tragedy

There has been a warm welcome for the latest set of policing statistics for Northern Ireland.

DUP Assembly Member Jonathan Bell has welcomed the reduction in recorded crime figures, whilst stating that more needs to be done to drive the figures down even further.

"Credit to the police where it is due the detection rate has risen to 27.3%. Whilst our thoughts are with the 105,000 victims of crime we should recognise and commend the Police for the 4,000 drop in crimes compared to the same period last year," he said, but insisted, "there must be no let up in the fight against crime".

Against a backdrop of tragedy, with a second PSNI officer being murdered in the last months, the PSNI revealed there had been 105,040 crimes recorded in 2010/11 compared with 109,139 in 2009/10, a decrease of 4,099 (-3.8%).

This was the lowest crime recorded for 13 years with the overall clearance rate (detections) up 1.5% to 27.3%.

Speaking about the annual statistics, Chief Constable Matt Baggott (pictured) paid tribute to the perseverance and determination of the Police Service.

"I am pleased to report that this year, despite the very difficult security environment in which we work, we have seen a decrease in the number of overall crimes recorded as well as an increase in the detection rate.

"Despite the challenges we face, policing is working. But we are not complacent and while the increased threat does impact upon the style and delivery of our service in some areas, we are determined that it will not prevent us working with people to tackle crime and deal with the issues that they want us to deal with," he said.

"These figures reflect our determination to deliver the service that people tell us they want, addressing local crime and serious harm. We are working to deliver that service and my colleagues are resolute, as they tackle crime across Northern Ireland.

"Falling crime shows that we have been embraced by communities and we will repay the faith they are showing in us by working to sustain and improve our performance," Mr Baggott continued.

"Recently we launched a series of Policing Commitments which clearly lay out the style of policing people want to see.

"These are in response to what people have asked us to do for them and I believe that by delivering our commitments, we will continue to build confidence and drive down crime.

"Significant work is ongoing to improve the structures, systems and processes we use to make sure we are effective in tackling crime and have more officers out on the streets.

"We now have an additional 600 officers delivering neighbourhood and response policing, more than at any other time in the last three years.

"By tackling bureaucracy, streamlining our systems and further improving our use of technology we will enable those officers to spend more time in communities," the Chief Constable said.

Terrorism

Of course, the past few months have been difficult for policing, with the tragic death of a second PSNI constable due to terrorism, that of Ronan Kerr, killed in a bobby-trap bomb explosion.

Although that tragedy occurred outside the reporting period, the death of Constable Stephen Carroll, shot dead in Co Armagh, is included.

The PSNI said that the numbers of persons arrested under Section 41 of the Terrorism Act increased by 19 (169 in 2009/10 to 188 in 2010/11).

The number of persons subsequently charged following arrest under Section 41 of the Terrorism Act rose from 36 in 2009/10 to 40 in 2010/11.

There were 99 bombing incidents in 2010/11, almost twice the level recorded in the previous year (50). There were 72 shooting incidents, seven fewer than the 79 recorded in 2009/10.

There were 33 casualties resulting from paramilitary style shootings in 2010/11, a decrease of 13 on the previous year. Casualties resulting from paramilitary style assaults decreased from 81 in 2009/10 to 50 in 2010/11.

(BMcC/KMcA)