Crime continues to drop in Tasman

Latest crime statistics show recorded crime in Tasman District continued to drop in 2011, with a 3.6 percent decrease. Tasman Police District includes Marlborough, Nelson Bays and the West Coast as far south as Haast.

There were 623 fewer offences recorded in 2011 than during the previous calendar year, with 16,695 offences recorded between 1 January 2011 and 31 December 2011. This is the lowest recorded figure for Tasman since 2007.

Tasman District Commander Superintendent Richard Chambers said he was very encouraged by the results.

"What is shows me is that we are on the right track with our focus on the frontline and with the work being done with communities and other agencies to prevent crime from happening in the first place," he said

The crime resolution rate for Tasman sits at 59.7 percent, more than 10 percent above the national average of 47 percent.

Marlborough recorded the highest crime resolution rate in the District at 62.1 percent

Unlawful entry offences were down nearly 8 percent for the year, while theft and related offences were down 9.2 percent. The West Coast recorded more than 10 percent reduction in both offence categories, while Nelson Bays had a 15 percent reduction in theft.

Sexual assaults were also down 9.3 percent across the District, with Nelson Bays recording a 32 percent reduction. The West Coast recorded an 84.6 percent increase, however this equates to 11 offences.

Superintendent Chambers said there had been a 21.4 percent increase in drug related offences, which reflected the proactive work Police were doing in detecting that type of offending.

"We have resolved 92.3 percent of that drug offending which is a fantastic result," he said.

Public order offences were also up 3.5 percent across the district, with Marlborough the only area to record a small decrease.

"Again, in this area we have an excellent resolution rate of 89.1 percent and this is all proactive policing."

"Our focus will continue to be preventing crime by identifying the risks that lead to offending. We'll be working closely with communities to ensure we have the best possible picture of what is going on in our District. We want to stop crime before it happens and prevent people becoming victims," he said.