Recorded crime drops in South

Less crime was recorded in the Southern police district in 2010 than in 2009, because police are working harder to stop it before it happens, they say.

Crime statistics released yesterday show the total amount of crime recorded south of the Waitaki dropped again last year, as it has every year since 2003, and the proportion of crimes that were resolved increased, as it has each year since 2005.

Police chiefs say they are starting to reap the benefits of a a new approach where police are not purely reactive, but tasked in a more targeted way, based on intelligence gathered about individual offenders, potential offenders or places where crime is more likely to happen.

The Southern police district as a whole reported another good drop in recorded crime last year (down 7.6%, or 2000 fewer offences than recorded in 2009), while the Southland police area again reported one of the largest drops in recorded crime of any police area in the country (down 12.2%, or 1223 offences).

In the Dunedin-Clutha police area, total recorded crime was down 5.6%, or 689, with reductions in all main areas of recorded crime, including assaults - serious assaults were down 16% from 335 to 281 - theft, burglary, property damage and public order offending.

Drug offending remained relatively steady.

Thefts from cars in Dunedin-Clutha increased 5%, from 843 to 885, while dropping significantly in other parts of the district.

In the Otago Rural area, which includes Central Otago, Queenstown and the Waitaki, the total amount of crime recorded was down across most crime categories compared with 2009 (less 4.2%, or 258 offences).

Motor vehicle thefts were down 17% and property damage down 9.4%, although such offending as disorderly or offensive conduct was up 0.8%.

The number of offences relating to cultivating drugs also rose, from 38 to 92, which police put down to the number of drug operations run in the area last year.

In Southland, acting area commander Inspector Olaf Jensen said crime reductions were due to a change in policing style, fully implemented in 2010.

Police there were working more as a whole team and more closely with the community, and were more focused on things like targeting "hot locations" of crime and individuals, rather than responding only after something happened.

The results showed the approach worked, he said.

Theft was down 17%, burglary down 13%, and property damage down 20%. However, the number of assaults were slightly up, with serious assaults in 2010 increasing from 274 to 282.