Police Commissioner Michael DeSilva has declared himself “relieved” by the downward trend exhibited by the latest crime statistics.

Overall crime continues to fall, and for the first time in five years, “all major crime categories are also on a decreasing trend”, Mr DeSilva yesterday announced.

Giving the fourth-quarter and year-end figures for crime in 2013, Mr DeSilva noted that last year saw a continual quarterly drop of crimes against the person, which range from murder and assault to robbery and offences against children.

The final quarter of 2013 marked “the first time in five years in that quarter that no one was fatally shot and no one was injured by firearms,” he added.

“There are clearly some very positive indicators in last year’s crime report,” Mr DeSilva said, attributing the decline to “robust law enforcement — but, more importantly, community support, community efforts and community action”.

Crime overall in Bermuda has declined by 43 percent since 2000.

Preliminary figures for stop and searches show a 44 percent drop in the controversial police tactic over the previous year’s figure — although not all data have been processed yet.

Arrests stood at 2,710, down 14 percent on 2012.

The statistics were released as the Bermuda Police Service prepares for its annual policing plan to come out on April 1.

The public are invited to offer feedback on the plan at a town-hall meeting on February 20 at St James Church Hall in Somerset.

The Island’s roads remain a concern: there were 36 collisions per week last year, which Mr DeSilva called “a high number for such a small jurisdiction as ours”.

“It’s an important point to make that in the last five years more than twice the lives lost through gun crimes were lost to fatal collisions: 24 shooting deaths as compared with 54 road traffic fatalities in the same period,” he said.

There was an incremental drop in the number of traffic collisions: 1,815 in 2012 versus 1,774 in 2013 — a decrease of just over two percent.

Crimes against the person last year declined by nine percent compared with 2012: from 677 offences to 615.

Crime overall decreased by 12.8 percent, from 3,990 offences to 3,480.

There were five murders in 2013, three of which were committed with firearms — the same figure as 2012.

However, all five murders in 2012 were committed with firearms.

The report shows nine firearms recovered in 2013, and five injuries caused by guns. In comparison, there were ten guns recovered in 2012 and seven gun-related injuries.

The total number of persons shot since the first quarter of 2012 was 72 — 20 of which have been fatal shootings.

Burglaries showed a five-year low, with 479 residential, 144 commercial and 11 tourist accommodation burglaries logged over the course of the year.

Crimes against the community, which range from weapons offences to antisocial behaviour, fell from 772 to 531, or 31 percent.

Crimes against property — burglary, criminal damage, theft and fraud — dropped from 2,541 to 2,334, or eight percent.

An estimated 35kg of controlled drugs were seized last year — two-thirds of them cannabis — to a collective value of $2.9 million.

Looking back on the gang violence spike of 2009, Mr DeSilva said: “I’m relieved because we were convinced back then, when we took a really hard look at our operations, that we could make a difference. But we knew we couldn’t make a difference overnight. If 2009 was our worst year for gang crime, 2010 was twice as bad.”

More officers on foot patrol, more community action teams, a greater investigative and forensic capacity and more support from the community made the difference, he said.

Meanwhile, police security cameras are being expanded across the Island. Mr DeSilva said a contract has just been signed with a vendor who is currently “working on the implementing of the cameras and all the recording equipment”.

An Island-wide network is expected to “go live” on April 1, he said.