Crimes against women fell by 10 per cent in the first quarter, while offences against children dropped by 34 per cent, according to statistics released by Commissioner of Police Rusiate Tudravu yesterday.
The reporting period covers August, September and October.
The commissioner said domestic incidents continued to drive a large portion of the cases.
“Still of concern for both these crimes, are the number of domestic related cases, such as assault, indecent assault, and sexual offences,” he said.
He said police were working with community leaders and social agencies to monitor repeat offenders, strengthen early reporting and improve protection for victims.
The commissioner said the drop should not be interpreted as a sign that women and children were safer, and stressed that domestic-related files continued to feature every month.
“Which is why we will be sharing with you the more detailed breakdown of where the reductions were reflected.”
Mr Tudravu also noted an overall decline in reported crimes across all five policing divisions.
“For crimes against women, there was an overall decrease of 10 per cent. And 34 per cent decrease in crimes against children.”
He said officers would continue awareness work as police dealt with increasing referrals from welfare agencies.
The commissioner added that police were also focused on improving enforcement measures, including monitoring of protection orders and response times to violence-related reports.
