Southern police have stepped up the number of foot patrols over the past year.
Yesterday Police Minister Anne Tolley announced frontline foot patrols rose by 70% over the past year, as part of a focus towards crime prevention.
Nationwide, foot patrols increased from 40,918 in 2011 to 69,773, an increase of 28,855. Southern district figures show foot patrols went from 1341 in 2011 to 4281 last year.
''Southern has been shifting its focus to intelligence-led crime and crash reduction, meaning greater emphasis on preventing crime and proactive policing,'' a spokeswoman said.
''This includes staff walking the beat more often, leading to greater visibility of police and reductions in offending.''
Mrs Tolley said having more officers on foot patrol helped tackle and prevent crime, with staff being deployed strategically.
Over the past two fiscal years, crime rates had dropped 5.9% and 7% respectively, resulting in a 47,438 fewer crimes, Mrs Tolley said.
