Dunedin Police are pleased the latest crime statistics show a slight drop (0.3 percent) in recorded offences in the Dunedin and Clutha local authority areas during the 2009 calendar year.
There were increases in recorded offences in the Violence, Sexual, and Drugs and Anti Social categories. Reductions in offending were recorded in the remaining offence categories.
There were 47 more recorded offences in the Violence category in 2009. This was driven mainly by an increase in Grievous Assaults (+36 offences), Serious Assaults (+25 offences), and Intimidation and Threats (+24 offences). Minor assaults dropped by 33 offences. This increase equated to 2.4 percent and was largely due to an increase in family violence recording. There appears to be an increased readiness to report family violence. Public place violence reduced 9 percent over the same period.
There was a 6 percent increase in Drugs and Anti-Social offences. The largest increase within the category was for Cannabis offences, which increased by 23% from 514 offences in 2008 to 630 offences in 2009. These increases were offset by a 32% drop in Alcohol offences, from 232 recorded offences in 2008 to 159 last year. Cannabis is the most widely used illegal drug in the Dunedin/Clutha area and there has been increased attention from police with the main emphasis on targeting dealers and growers.
There were increases in Car Conversion (+66 offences), Burglary (+33 offences), and Theft (+29 offences) offences.
A 5 percent decrease in Property Damage offences was driven entirely by Wilful Damage offences, which dropped 6 percent. Local community constables have been tasked with reducing wilful damage in their patch, which includes providing crime prevention advice to property owners at risk.
ENDS