Police Commissioner Jean-Jacques Lemay praised both his officers and members of the public yesterday when he reported a 23 percent drop in crime last year.

He said the decrease in the number of incidents reported was not accidental, but said it was down to hard work and commitment from Police officers and support from the community.

And he said while he and his officers were delighted with the latest figures -- which show a massive 51 percent drop in crimes between 1994 and 2000 -- there was no room for complacency.

Speaking at a press briefing yesterday, and accompanied by Commissioner Designate Jonathan Smith and Deputy Commissioner George Jackson, Mr. Lemay said there was always room for improvement.

He said: "These figures are very encouraging, but I think the credit must go to a number of people.

"First of all, the men and women of the service who, 24 hours a day, day in day out, are out there, doing their very best to tackle crime in Bermuda.

"Also, the public plays a very important role. Certainly, since I have been in Bermuda there has been great co-operation from sectors of the community.'' He also praised the work of CrimeStoppers, which has resulted in an increased number of people calling in with tip-offs via a hotline that accepts anonymous calls.

And he said the special constables had also played a major role, especially during times of manpower shortages, when the reserve officers had to be relied upon to step in.

But Mr. Lemay also said the Police had taken a definite pro-active approach to the job, as opposed to a reactive one, which he felt had paid great dividends.

He said he hoped the new focus was providing a better quality of service and would ensure that fewer people would fall victim to crime.

The figures released yesterday show a 12.2 percent drop in major crime, such as murder, attempted murder, assault, grievous bodily harm and sexual assault.

There were a total of 40 sex assaults last year, two of them on tourists, which was two down on the year before. However, this was in spite of a rash of incidents between August and December last year, when a number of women were targeted in violent and sexual ways.

The year also saw a huge drop in the number of stealing incidents, which includes handbag theft, which last year was down 34.2 percent on the previous year.

And there was also a reduction in the total number of burglary and breaking offences, down last year to 908, from 1035 the year before.

Although there have been noticeable increases in the last 12 months in office and school breaking, the overall figures are still down. In 1994, Police received 1,861 breaking and entering complaints. That has been cut by more than 50 percent when compared to the 2000 total of 908.

However, the greatest decline was in the number of vehicle thefts.

Massive fall in Island crime rate The force has recorded a 30.2 percent fall in the removal of cars, bikes and other vehicles, down from 1,422 in 1999, to 993 last year.

Commissioner Designate Mr. Smith said last year's figures compared favourably with the same category of crimes seven years ago.

Mr. Smith said: "Removed vehicles is a particular area of success for the Bermuda Police Service.

"This particular crime of removed vehicles accounts for $3 million worth of property theft and removal per year -- go back to the early 90s and it's higher than that.

"With a targeted approach to cycle crime and through the very hard efforts of many dedicated officers in our cycle crime unit, we are really seeing some very positive signs here.

"The reduction in this category is perhaps more dramatic than others we may have seen.'' "It is directly attributed to hard work and a targeted approach.'' He said the work of the cycle unit had resulted in a drop in cycle theft last year that was the equivalent to $1 million dollars.

During 2000, just over 36 motorcycles were stolen per 1,000 that were registered. The year before it was 49 per 1,000.

For every 1,000 homes, about 14.3 were broken into last year.

Also following the downward trend was road traffic accidents. During last year, the number of collisions reported to Police fell from 2,876 to 2,739 - a 4.8 percent reduction.

Mr. Smith added: "There appears to be some correlation between collision reduction and enforcement by the Police, coupled with a raised profile of awareness and education (from the Ministry of Transport and the Road Safety Council).

"The number of fatalities was also reduced from ten in 1999 to six in 2000.'' He said he was keen to see the number of collisions further reduced, especially those involving personal injury.

He added: "The trend in road accidents has not reached the level I would like to see, but, having said that, we have seen a reduction by almost five per cent. I want to see that greater reduced.'' Mr. Smith said the reduction in crime was very much a community effort.

He added: "Some areas of Bermuda are becoming safer, through these community areas working with the Police.'' CHART