Chch crime rate falls

Press, Volume CXII, Issue 33064, 3 November 1972, Page 1

Chch crime rate falls

Christchurch’s crime rate dropped slightly for the first nine months of this year, while the national rate was up 5.8 per cent.

From January to the end of September, the Christchurch C. 1.8. has had 6412 offences reported to it, a drop of 131 on the figure of 6543 for the same period in 1971. In 1970, 5270 crimes were reported in the first nine months of the year.

The commander of the Christchurch police district (Chief Superintendent G. Tait) said that these figures showed only crimes reported to the police and did not deal with offences covered by the uniform branch.

In Auckland, 8083 crimes have been reported for' the first nine months of this year, a rise of 646, while Wellington showed a rise of 473 to 5008, and Dunedin a rise of 267 to 2390. In October, the Christchurch C. 1.8. dealt with 73$

reported crimes, a higher number than usual. It cleared 50 per cent of the offences, a rate above the national average.

More than 50 persons were charged with burglary in the month. Altogether, 228 burglaries were reported and 110 cleared.

[ Fifty-nine out of 71 cases lof false pretences were cleared. Only two drug I offences were dealt with in October, one of which was I still to be cleared.