Chch figures

Press, 10 March 1988, Page 3

Chch figures

Reported pffences in the Christchurch police district fell 4.8 per cent.in the last nine months of 1987, accordi igl to statistics given yesterday. The acting district commander, Superintendent' Michael Ta ding, welcomed the fa 1. , He believed the fall was due in part to the reorganisation of the C. 1.8. last year, mere intensive policing by patrols, and the increase in neighbourhood support groups. Burglaries during the j nine months fell 9.4 peri cent, from 7348 offences to 6262. "I have n) doubt that the increase in the number of neighbourhood support groups has greatly helped as far as the burglaries are ci ncerned," he said. The district's clearance rate improv ?d from 36.6 per cent in 986 to 40 per cent, with tie police solv-j ing 14,928 bf the 37,261). reported offences.,, Reported offendes jinj 1986 totalled 39,154. | [ Three murders were je-l ported in the last nine months of 1987, compared! with nine in the same

period the year before. Rape and sexual violation offences rose from 24 to 40. Superintendent Tarling attributed the 66.6 per cent rise to the efforts of the expanded child abuse unit. •‘‘This section now has two more staff and is inquiring into a lot more offences as a result.” Violent offences showed a 2.7 per cent rise, to 1872 offences. The police cleared 81.4 per' cent of the violent crimes. 4.5 per cent more than the previous period. Significant increases were shown in crimes of arson (15.8 per cent) and robbery (17.6 per cent). The Christchurch police cleared 34.7 per cent of arsons and 38.6 per cent of robberies. Dishonesty offences dropped 7.9 per cent, from 29,103 to 26,797. The clearance rate improved from 22.9 per cent to 24.6 per cent. Motor-vehicle conversions also showed a considerable decrease, falling 17.6 per cent from 3858 to 3165.