Ulster Unionist MLA for North Down and Northern Ireland Policing Board member Leslie Cree has welcomed the findings of the Northern Ireland Crime Survey (NICS) which stated that 13.4% of all households and their adult occupants were victims of crime in the preceding 12 months. This is the lowest figure since the survey began in Northern Ireland and is significantly lower than that of England and Wales (23.4%).

 

Leslie said, “I welcome the findings of this survey which shows that crime in Northern Ireland remains considerably lower than in England and Wales. This recent survey shows that crime in every category save one is lower in Northern Ireland.

 

“In fact, in some areas it is considerably lower – the figure for vehicle-related thefts in Northern Ireland is two thirds less and for burglary it is less than half of the number for England and Wales. Other stark differences relate to vandalism, household crime and personal crime.

 

“This good news is to be welcomed. We need to continue to build upon this success and continue to drive down crime and disorder. Overall, crime in Northern Ireland has fallen considerably in the last decade. I hope that in the next few years we see it continue to fall.

 

“However, the PSNI still has a lot of work to do in relation to crime prevention strategies which unfortunately remain largely absent. So while this survey is good news, these figures could be further reduced with focused crime prevention strategies and more concentrated operations which target prolific offenders such as burglars.

 

“I am also very keen to see what strategies the PSNI bring in to curb violence in and around the night-time economy. This is an area which is in real need of targeted intervention.”