Chief Minister Dr. Orlando Smith laid the document on the table at last week's sitting of the Legislative Council.

The report compares crime statistics for 2004 and 2003. It finds the relative decline in the Territory’s crime rate was due to decreases in three of the seven major crime categories.

It said public order offences, offences against property, and narcotics related offences fell by 11 percent, 7 percent, and 10 percent respectively. The report shows that 44 percent of the 2,953 criminal offences reported in 2004 were crimes against property.

A further 34 percent were crimes against persons. Public order offences accounted for 10 percent of reported crimes; fraud and firearms offences were tallied at 4 percent each; narcotics offences made up 3 percent; and customs and immigration offences were 1 percent of reported crimes.

According to the annual report, the crime figures show a 35 percent increase in crime over the four-year period from 2001 to 2004.

The report concludes that although the total number of crimes in 2004 was not lower than the previous years’ total, the Royal Virgin Islands Police Force has managed to reduce the rate at which crime has been increasing in the Territory.

The Royal Virgin Islands Police Force Annual Report 2004 reviews the Territory’s overall crime trend for the four year period between 2001 and 2004. It shows 2,205 crimes were reported in 2001 while the figure was 2,953 at the end of 2004.

There were 2,465 reported crimes in 2002 and 2,875 reported crimes in 2003.

In addition to the statistical analysis, the RVIPF annual report for 2004 included reviews of the different police divisions, services provided by the RVIPF, service charter commitments, and a listing of the Police Commissioner’s priorities.