Chief Supt Stephen Cargin.
The number of sexual offences in G District – Foyle, Limavady, Magherafelt and Strabane – increased by 14% in the last financial year, police figures reveal.
The figures, issued by newly appointed police commander, Chief Superintendent Stephen Cargin, show there was a 4.1 per cent reduction in overall crime throughout G District for the 2013/14 financial year, the 12,786 crimes reported being 552 fewer than the previous 12 months.
The District was one of only three in the North to show a drop in crime.
While injury by violence fell by 10.5%, theft by 4.3%, burglary by 14.8% and criminal damage by 16%, the number of sexual offences increased by 14%, vehicle offences 8.9% and shoplifting 16.9%.
The number of drugs offences detected increased by 7.5%.
The total value of drugs seized in G District in 2013/14 was £631,000.
In all, 629 seizures were made and there were 443 arrests.
G District has shown the largest reduction in ASB incidents within the Service with 1,558 fewer incidents than this time last year
Chief Superintendent Stephen Cargin said the figures reflected a continuation of good relationships between local police and local communities.
“As well as being one of three Districts in Northern Ireland that showed a reduction in crime, G District had the highest overall outcomes rate of 34.3 per cent. That is up on the previous year and G District is sitting at 7.1 per cent above the Service average.
“I do appreciate that while the level of reported crime has fallen, there is still criminal activity throughout the District and there are still people who have been victims of crime.
“We want to prevent crime occurring and to investigate and detect those behind it. Local communities can help by being aware of crime, taking sensible precautions and reporting incident and information to police.”
Chief Inapector Jon Burrows.
In Foyle, the number of crimes reported to police during the 2013/14 financial year showed a slight reduction of 1.8 per cent over the previous financial year.
With 8,028 crimes reported, there were 149 fewer victims of crime.
Area commander Chief Inspector Burrows said the crimes reflected reductions in violence with injury down by 171, theft by 101, burglary by 75 and criminal damage by 248.
He added: “There are, though, some areas that continue to concern us and one of those is the number of incidents of violence that did not lead to injury.
“We saw an increase of 171 incidents and many of those are associated with overindulgence in alcohol and the night time economy.
“These are areas we will be looking at.”
He revealed the number of drugs offences detected also increased by 84 which, he stressed, reflected the priority given to them.
He added: “In 2013/14 we seized around a quarter of a million pounds worth of drugs and made almost 300 arrests.
“That is a measure of our response, and it is a priority that people in the Derry community share.”
There was a 12 per cent drop in the number of crimes reported to police in the Limavady area in the 2013/14 financial year.
With 1,758 crimes reported, there were 243 fewer victims of crime.
Area commander Chief Inspector Tony Callaghan said there were “significant reductions” in the number of theft and burglary offences reported.
Chief Inspector Tony Gallaghan.
Thefts were down by 79and burglary by 46. Criminal damage reports fell by 119 incidents and drugs offences by 31.
CI Callaghan added: “Limavady also achieved the highest outcome rates at an area level in Northern Ireland with 38.9%.
“We remain committed to tacking crime of all kind and in particular to increasing drugs detections.”
In Strabane, there was a 6.9 per cent drop in the number of crimes reported to police during the 2013/14 financial year.
With 1,1,503 crimes reported, there were 112 fewer victims of crime
Chief Inspector Andy Lemon, the area commander, revealed the number of drugs offences in Strabane remained at a “low level” with just 42 detections during the year.
Chief Inspector Andy Lemon.
He added: “Across all the areas of crime, the changes were subtle, with the main differences being in violence against the person, down by 20, and criminal damage, down by 101.
“These are both areas of concern for our communities and we will continue to focus on them in the coming months.”
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