Police Release 2016 Crime Statistics Report
Total crime for 2016 fell by 164 crimes or about 4% and 2016 is the 3rd lowest year for total crime since 2000, behind 2013 [3,480[ and 2014 [3,394], according to the 2016 Crime Statistics released by the police today.
This was announced by Commissioner of Police Michael DeSilva, who said, “The release of the 2016 crime report was delayed by technical issues with the new MEMEX crime recording system. The exercise of migrating data from one system to another was a lengthy one, and we took care to ensure that the numbers in this report are completely accurate.
“Having said that, I can now report that total crime for 2016 fell by 164 crimes or about 4%. 2016 is the 3rd lowest year for total crime since 2000, behind 2013 [3,480] and 2014 [3,394].
“Bermuda has recorded less than 1,000 crimes per quarter for 18 continuous quarters. That is a positive indicator that the general trend of total crime continues to be in a slight downward direction.
“Crimes against the community [including firearms, weapons and disorder offences] decreased by 28%. Crimes against property as a whole were consistent with the year before, although residential burglaries specifically were up by 18%. Crimes against the person collectively increased by 4%, the most notable of which is robberies which jumped from 46 in 2015 to 81 in 2016.
“As we reported last year, the increase in robberies is worrying but we should not be alarmist. Almost all robberies are crimes of opportunity to acquire money or other property, or they result from tensions and clashes between rival gang members.
“In all cases, we continue to advocate crime prevention tactics to reduce the opportunities for robberies to occur, and we encourage anyone to call in with information about suspicious activity to help catch and convict the offenders.
“Regrettably, the report is punctuated by 7 homicides, 5 of which were committed with firearms, and another 9 people were injured by firearms. One additional death was recorded as manslaughter. There were 31 confirmed firearms incidents, an increase from 12 the previous year.
“11 lives were tragically lost on our roads, an increase from 7 the year before. This equates to 18 road deaths per 100,000 population, placing Bermuda in the top half of the World Health Organization’s estimation of global road traffic fatality rates. The total number of traffic collisions increased by 7% in 2016, but at 1,400 collisions last year was 10% lower than the 5 year average of 1,540.
“The long-term downward trend of crime and the total crime reduction of 4% last year are both encouraging, but they are marred by an increase in violent crime and an apparent rise in the fear of crime. The BPS is working to address both of these issues.
“Having received Government funding to hire 30 police officers this year, we are recruiting trained firearms officers to join our ranks by the start of the America’s Cup, and a local Recruit Foundation Course commences in September. 12 police cadets will also be hired through this exercise, and we will take our operational strength back up to 425 officers.
“We are also working to reduce the fear of crime, especially where those fears might be disproportionate to the reality. The BPS is committed to “Making Bermuda Safer” by tackling crime and anti-social behaviour, and making the roads safer.
“Our officers work to enhance public confidence by providing highly visible and effective policing and responding quickly to emergencies. We are particularly focused in the neighbourhoods that need the most support and we encourage the public to engage with our officers and partner with us in those efforts.”
The 2016 Crime Statistics report follows below [PDF here]:
Crime hasn’t fallen. Less people are reporting crimes because there is so much red tape when you call 911. Full name, address, DOB, location, tel. #s, description, rank & serial # etc., etc., etc..). By time they take down all the BS & sent a car, the perps are long gone and the cops drive off without a crime being registered…
So your assertion is that over 2000 people have chosen to not report a crime because it won’t get solved or because the police want to make sure they get details from you…….. OK, fact, if you report a crime, it may not get solved; if you don’t report a crime, it is guaranteed not to get solved.
If this is the nonsense you want to believe, go ahead.
Where are the 425 police officers hiding? You’d be lucky to find more than half a dozen out on the streets if you spent a day driving around the whole Island!!
Could the police explain why Dr. Froncioni stated that the majority of people turning up at hospital “drunk as a skunk’ are not tested for alcohol? The statistics we are fed are purposely misleading since no one has the will to do what is right, by law, and apparently the authorities feel only drunks who crash into something should be processed (as long as they don’t run away), and that liquor moguls and dealers profits are paramount, taking precedence over peoples lives and the millions in health care costs incurred etc. Any claims of enhancing public confidence and effective policing ring hollow when such a critical issue is largely ignored. We have the LLA just now ‘clamping down” on bars that have been flouting the laws for decades. Offenders aren’t dragged before the courts, they are allowed to get their “houses in order” no charges, one liquor dealer was caught operating for years recently with no license, don’t even think he was fined. You all are a joke with all this ‘the law is the law’ BS while ignoring your favorite drug of choices’ laws.
The 3rd lowest since 2000. And 2016 includes the December assaults on Police officers!
I like graphs they tell a lot just from a glance….need I point out that it starts at 2000? Now what else happened around 1999 -2000? Hmmm
Message to all, do not politicize crime “crooks will be crooks”.
Keep up your good work Bermuda Police Service.
Satisfied now Mr Robain ? Crime is way down from when the PLP was in office…way down….
If you believe crime is down I have some ice to sell you eskimo.
Eskimo is a derogatory word, an Inuit would be offended. How much for a bag of ice?
So why not gather and publish the number of calls to 911 by type of call i.e. Police, fire, ambulance, prank etc?
It’s down because so many born Bermudianshave been forced to leave their country.
The criminals left? Good.
Like
“PLP Demand Credit for Release of Crime Stats Following Roban’s Demand for Release of Crime Stats”
Perhaps “Jason” can provide us with just a few actual facts to show that crime is “Up” rather than “Down”. The Police have been investigating and reporting on annual crime statistics since, what is it, 1879, and they have nothing to gain by telling anything but the truth. If crime is up they could ask for more officers, if it’s down they could be told they don’t need so many officers. Crime statistics, just like road accident statistics, and road accident fatalities either rise of fall every year. There is not a single shred of evidence to suggest that the Police stats are not accurate. Not one shred.
I cannot think of a more difficult job to do than being a police officer in the year 2017. We need to fully support our police if we want to reduce serious crime – and drunken driving which probably causes more deaths and serious injuries than violent crime.