Crime Rates Falling - But 'Clear Up' Rate Dropping Too

While crime rates are reported to have fallen in Northern Ireland - by more than a tenth - clear up rates, or the number of crimes for which a prosecution has been obtained have fallen too.

It is anticipated that the relevant figures will show that in the past year officers have only managed to solve around 20% of crimes.

And, while police argue that this is partly because of a change in Home Office counting rules, the Northern Ireland Policing Board is likely to be seeking a better performance.

However, it has commended the news of falling statistics of recorded crime statistics that were published this morning.

The statistics show that during the year from April 2007 to March 2008, there were 108,468 recorded crimes - a decrease of 10.5% (12,676) since 2006/2007.

The overall clearance rate was 20.5% which was down 3.1 percentage points on the previous year.

Board Chairman, Professor Sir Desmond Rea, said: "The fact that the 2007/2008 recorded crime statistics are the lowest recorded since the counting rules were revised in 1998/1999 is very welcome and surpasses the target set in the 2007-2010 Policing Plan.

"However, the low overall clearance rate remains a cause for concern; the Board has set the PSNI a challenging target in the 2008-2011 Policing Plan to increase the clearance rate by 5 percentage points."

Overall though, the statistics show decreases in violent crime, domestic burglaries and theft (including vehicle crimes) compared to 2006/2007.

“The Board welcomes the 7.6% fall in the number of violent crimes," he continued also welcoming the fall in the number of domestic burglaries (1.7%) and vehicle crimes (9.2%), which are constantly highlighted as issues of concern throughout Northern Ireland.

He said this will build on reductions secured over the last number of years and evidence the success of police initiatives at a local level.

A fall in the numbers of racist (12.1%), homophobic (2.6%) and sectarian (13.2%) crimes was also particularly welcomed, but the fact that the number of crimes with a disability motivation have raised show "some way to go".

And on the day that a huge 'factory' growing cannabis was uncovered, the Board was also said to be concerned about the rise in drug seizure incidents and the number of people arrested for drug related offences.

While recorded crime across Northern Ireland as a whole in 2007/2008 has decreased by 10.5% on the previous year, recorded crime has increased in East Belfast, Carrickfergus, Fermanagh, Larne and Magherafelt.

Sir Desmond continued: "Everyone in our community wants to feel safe and has a right to feel safe in their homes and going about their business.

"Anyone who has been the victim of a crime will understand the importance of this and the need for the police to provide public assurance and reassurance," he concluded.

(BMcC)