Title: Recorded crime drops in Wellington Police District

Annual crime statistics released today show recorded crime in the Wellington District dropped by 4.2 percent in the 2011 calendar year.

Wellington District Commander Superintendent Mike Rusbatch says from 1 January 2011 to 31 December 2011, a total of 42,444 offences were recorded. There were 1877 fewer offences recorded in 2011, compared to the 2010 calendar year.

The categories across the District where recorded offences fell the most in the 2011 calendar year include fraud, deception and related offences (-25.1 percent), acts intended to cause injury (-6.9 percent) and illicit drug offences (-5.1 percent).

Superintendent Rusbatch says, "Lower Hutt Area had the most significant drop in recorded crime for the 2011 year, with a reduction of 9.3 percent, followed by Wairarapa (-3.8 percent) and Kapiti Mana (-3.6 percent)."

"Homicide and related offences were down by 60 percent, with 4 recorded deaths in 2011 as a result of murder or manslaughter and driving causing death. This compares to 10 in the 2010 calendar year."

Burglaries across the District were up slightly by 2.5 percent.

Superintendent Rusbatch says Police across the Wellington District are committed to preventing crime before it occurs, through the recently-launched Prevention First Strategy, which is the New Zealand Police operating strategy to 2015.

"Police across Wellington District will continue to ensure all residents can be safe and feel safe. We're working even harder to make sure we have the right staff at the right location at the right time to keep all Wellingtonians safe and prevent them from becoming a victim of a needless crime."

At a national level, recorded crime continues to drop with recorded offences dropping by 4.8 percent.

The overall national resolution rate remains steady at 47 percent.

ENDS

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