The island’s chief constable Gary Roberts has said that living in the west of the island is the safest place to live, according to how many crimes have been committed there.
Figures in his annual report to Tynwald, which will presented on July 9, shows crimes that have been committed in the island’s policing areas.
In the west, police dealt with just 233 offences, compared to the central district, which covers Douglas, where there were 1,276 crimes last year.
In the south of the island police dealt with 355, compared to 316 crimes in the north, during the past 12 months.
For the sixth consecutive year recorded crime has continued to fall, 2,203 crimes were recorded during 2012/13, this means the crime fell by 21.1 per cent against the three year average for the last three crime years.
It also demonstrates a reduction of 17.1 per cent when compared against 2011/12.
The chief constable also warned that further cuts to the constabulary could result in the end of Neighbourhood policing.
He echoed concerns by his predecessor Mike Langdon, who said in his final report ‘I feel it necessary to professionally advise you that if the police budget continues to diminish in the way that it has over the life of the three year budget plan then to continue the current model of neighbourhood policing will become unsustainable.
‘This would be a matter of great personal regret and I believe will have ramifications perhaps not this year or next but certainly in the future’.
Chief Constable Roberts said his predecessor ‘was right’, he added: ‘Neighbourhood policing will be unsustainable if projected budgets become reality. There are a number of ways in which the Isle of Man could be policed.
‘However, the current model, which balances neighbourhood policing with the need to address serious and organised crime and the Isle of Man’s international obligations on financial crime, seems to me to be the right one.
‘It is right for two reasons; it is successful and it is what the people of the island want. There can be absolutely no doubt that the safety of the island is a major contributory factor in the continuing economic success that we enjoy.
‘A key driver of economic activity is the quality of life that the constabulary helps preserve.’
Drink driving arrests were slightly down from 2011/12, in the past 12 months 131 people have been arrest compared to 135 the previous year.
The total number of missing persons reported during 2012/13 was 594, this represents an increase of 95 per cent over the previous year.
In the report it said: ‘Even more significantly the number absent from local care more than tripled. These cases are becoming a major drain on police resources.’
In the report chief constable Roberts pointed out that, unlike in the UK, the island has not got the flexibility of other forces, that could work together to save money.
Due to financial reforms it has resulted in a smaller workforce with fewer senior managers and more volunteers.
Meanwhile, a customer satisfaction survey, on average two in five victims provided responses when surveyed. It showed that 92 per cent were completely satisfied or satisfied and 71 per cent said that police got it right in the contact expectations.
