Offences recorded by police fell more than 8 per cent in 2022 compared with the previous year, the Bermuda Police Service announced.

The release of the crime statistics for 2022 showed that while “crimes against the person” increased, overall offences fell by 263.

“Of note, this also represents the fourth consecutive yearly decrease from a high of 3,694 offences back in 2018,” the BPS said.

Darrin Simons, the Commissioner of Police, explained: “While there have been increases in some categories, the fact remains that overall, crime was down in 2022.

“Admittedly, Covid regulations would have had an influence on the figures.

“However, despite the challenges highlighted here, your Bermuda Police Service continue their efforts, unabated, to maintain this downward trend.

“We may not get it right all the time, but we seek to ensure that we do get it right the majority of the time.”

The report showed that 2,902 offences were recorded in 2022 — an 8.3 per cent decrease from the previous year, when there were 3,165 offences.

Part of the decline included crimes against the community and antisocial behaviour.

It is believed that the drop was predominantly a result of the Covid-19 regulations still in place.

Nine murders also took place in 2022, five of which were the result of firearms offences. Three people died from bladed articles and one died after an assault.

The incidents were among the 693 crimes against the person that year.

Serious assaults rose from 38 in 2021 to 49 in 2022, while other assaults rose from 398 in 2021 to 487 in 2022, and sexual assaults rose from 43 in 2021 to 47 in 2022.

Robberies also rose from 22 in 2021 to 26 in 2022 and indecency offences increased from 28 offences in 2021 to 36 in 2022.

There was one manslaughter offence in 2022, while 2021 did not have any such offences.

Overall, crimes against the person were up by 114 in 2022, compared with 579 crimes the year before.

The only crimes against the person not to increase were offences against children, which fell from 43 instances in 2021 to 38 in 2022.

The report suggested that Covid-19 restrictions had the dual effect of increasing the number of crimes that could be committed and limiting opportunities to commit them.

Enforcement of Covid-19 restrictions between March 30, 2020, and June 16, 2022, created new offences labelled under antisocial behaviour, or ASB, which was a form of crime against the community.

Covid-19 offences made up 316 of the 768 instances of ASB in 2020 and 329 of the 726 instances of ASB in 2021.

They counted for only 23 of the 407 ASB incidents in 2022, but the report noted that this was likely because Covid-19 offences were eventually treated as ticketable offences and no longer considered antisocial behaviour.

Lifting the restrictions also had the effect of allowing crimes to be committed more easily, which could be seen in the third and final quarters of 2022, when all forms of crime rose after the end of Covid-19 restrictions.

There were 11 road traffic fatalities in 2022 and 132 serious injuries caused by collisions.

A police spokesman said that the “vast majority” of those incidents were caused by speeding and impaired driving.

There were also 588 instances of minor injuries on the road and 701 crashes and collisions that resulted only in damage to a vehicle.

The report showed that between 2018 and 2022 there had been on average one death every 30 days, one severe injury every 3½ days and one slight injury every 15 hours.

The spokesman said: “While the BPS are working assiduously to address the incidence of road traffic collisions, as evidenced by the 9,233 traffic tickets issued in 2022, the public must do their part by exercising greater caution when operating a vehicle and not engaging in driving while impaired.”

On this issue, Mr Simons said: “What will aid in making that effort successful is your continued support.”

He added: “We thank the public for continuing to hold us accountable as we perform our duties in meeting our mandate of making Bermuda safer.

“As I have often said, the community is the police and the police is the community.

“It is through this partnership that we will continue to ensure Bermuda’s reputation as a safe jurisdiction.”

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BPS Official Statistics Report 2022

• To read the report in full, see Related Media