There were 750 crimes committed on the Island in the second three months of this year — a drop of more than ten percent on the same period last year when 834 offences were recorded. The figures also compare favourably to earlier years — 1,038 crimes were reported in the second quarter of 2012 and there were 1,139 crimes for the same period in 2011.

The three-month period was the eighth consecutive quarter in which offences remained under 1,000 and is the lowest total quarterly figure since 2000, according to the statistics.

The quarter witnessed one murder — that of Erin Richardson, who was gunned down outside his Riviera Estate, Southampton home on April 23 — but overall, crimes against persons dropped a massive 35 percent on the same period last year, down from 167 in 2013 to 108 this year.

There were nine serious assaults, 80 other assaults, and six sex assaults in the quarter as well as five robberies, three offences against children and four acts of indecency.

Reported incidents of crimes against property dipped from 527 last year to 517 this year. Motor vehicle theft (181) and theft of property (159) made up the bulk of those offences, but there were also 110 burglaries, 46 reports of criminal damage, and 21 incidents of fraud and deception.

Two firearms offences were reported in the second quarter of 2014, compared to four offences last year.

And there was also a fall in the number of traffic collisions, down from 468 in the second quarter of 2013, to 405 in the same period this year.

An analysis of the date concluded: “The long term trend of traffic collisions continues to decrease from over 600 per quarter in 2008. Q2 2014 had the third lowest number of cases recorded since figures began being collated in Q1 2007.”

In the war on drugs, police and customs officials seized an estimated 8.6kg of controlled drugs with a street value of almost $1.25 million. Cannabis was the most common drug seized, although quantities of crack cocaine and heroin were also obtained by law enforcement agencies. The vast majority of seizures — 71 — were made at street level although a further 27 interceptions were made at ferry ports and the airport.

This morning Police Commissioner Michael DeSilva will hold a press conference to discuss the statistics in more detail.