Vehicle removals also plummeted dramatically, while violent crime and theft dipped slightly.

The figures for these four crime categories show a drop of more than 40 percent for 1996 over 1994.

On the drugs front -- for which separate statistics are given -- seizures of cocaine and cannabis decreased drastically, while those of heroin only slightly.

Seizures of cannabis resin, however, more than doubled.

Police brought 164 drugs cases to the courts in 1996, compared to 98 in 1995, according to the figures.

And it has emerged cruise ships are a key means of smuggling drugs into Bermuda, with arrests of crew members shooting up.

The provisional statistics were released in the House of Assembly on Friday by Public Safety Minister Quinton Edness.

Speaking during the debate on Budget estimates for his Ministry, he stressed the crime figures were preliminary ones and unaudited.

They demonstrated, however, the rewards of Police Commissioner Colin Coxall's Service Strategy, he said.

"While violent crime and drug abuse continue to pose threats to society, the Police Service is poised to deal with these threats as effectively as possible.

"However, the help and active support of the community is vital in these two areas.'' Mr. Edness added: "Violence and drug abuse are not acceptable forms of behaviour in our society and we must be active at the community level in support of the Police if we are to make real progress in reducing these crimes.'' Provisional statistics show 373 crimes of violence occurred in 1996, compared to 397 and 401 in 1995 and 1994 respectively. These figures do not include minor assaults.

Statistics for the other crime categories are: Thefts: 335 (1996), 361 (1995), 394 (1994); Breaking and entering: 987 (1996); 1,452 (1995); 1,861 (1994); and Vehicle removals: 1,210 (1996); 2,044 (1995); 2,557 (1994).

The number of offences in these four categories totalled 2,905 last year -- compared to 4,254 in 1995 and 5,213 in 1994.

Mr. Edness said the 50 percent decline in break-ins over three years was very significant.

"This is a very encouraging statistic. Many factors account for this including various Police initiatives, increased community awareness and the quicker capture and incarceration of known `breakers'.'' Edness encouraged by decline in crime Mr. Edness added the removal of vehicles, particularly cycles, showed an encouraging 45 percent drop for 1996 over 1994.

"Again reasons for this decrease include various Police initiatives and incarceration of known thieves, allied to strong support from insurance companies.'' Violent crime was difficult to prevent -- and this reflected the less dramatic decline, said Mr. Edness.

"Research shows that over 70 percent of victims of assault knew their assailants and such incidents occurred in the context of domestic disputes, drug related matters and spontaneous arguments.

"This is a clear indicator that socio-economic problems may be the root cause of violent crime remaining fairly constant over the past few years.'' Mr. Edness said research suggested the influence of drugs was responsible for up to 80 percent of crime.

He went on to give separate provisional statistics for drugs. These showed 99.84 grams of heroin were seized in 1996, compared to 109.32 in 1995.

Other seizure statistics include: Cocaine: 23.19kg (1996); 40.18kg (1995); Cocaine freebase: 1,469.04g (1996); 1,288.87g (1995); Cannabis: 07.05kg (1996); 79.48kg (1995); and Cannabis resin: 975.05g (1996); 430.73g (1995).

Other figures showed convictions for drug offences from 20 to 26 between 1995 and 1996.

Last year, for instance, there were 12 convictions for possession with intent to supply cannabis, while there were five in 1995.

Mr. Edness said the Police narcotics unit was boosted from 23 to 29 officers during 1996 and had undergone reorganisation.

"More emphasis has been placed on intelligence driven targeting of the major importer and distributors of drugs.

"As an example, cruise ships have been identified as the major method of drug importation during the season, and the number of arrests of crew members from ships rose to 16 in 1996 from six in 1995.'' Shadow Public Safety Minister Alex Scott said he would reserve comment on the drug figures until he had studied them.

COLIN COXALL -- Strategy reaping rewards, Edness says.