The police say there was a decrease of 8% in murders during last year when figures of 140 for 2010 and 129 for 2011 are compared.
In a statement today, the force said that there was an increase of 6% in disorderly type of murders with 53 such murders being committed in 2011 compared to 50 during 2010. At the same time there were less murders of the execution, robbery related, and unknown categories in 2011, while domestic-type murders were even at 25 for both years.
Robbery under arms increased by 6% during 2011 with 880 reports compared to 827 for 2010. The statistics indicate a reduction by 1% in the number of armed robberies involving the use of firearms, and a 24% increase in armed robberies where instruments other than firearms were used by the perpetrators.
The police said that in relation to traffic, while there have been 5 more fatal accidents in 2011, the number of deaths owing to such accidents was kept at the 2010 figure of 115. 11 children lost their lives due to traffic accidents in 2011 compared to 7 during 2010.
Pedestrians and pedal cyclists continued to be the two main categories of road users affected during 2011 with 41persons and 20 persons, respectively, losing their lives, police added. Speeding and driving under the influence of alcohol were the major causes of the fatal accidents.
The Force said it is continuing its enforcement activities along with the use of breathalysers and radar guns and traffic education, and at the end of last year 2011 a total of 61,215 cases were made against errant motorists. Of this total 11,572 were for speeding and 1,027 for driving under the influence of alcohol.
