The number of crimes and offences committed in Bahrain this year witnessed a sharp decline compared with last year, said an official from the Interior Ministry.

The ministry spokesman said that 23,266 cases had been registered until Monday compared with 27,706 throughout 2010.

"Drug-related cases also declined, with 524 cases registered until October this year compared with 880 last year."

The figures were released as the ministry marks Bahrain Police Day, which is celebrated today.

The spokesman said that the General Directorate of Civil Defence dealt with 8,817 cases in 2010 compared with only 5,485 so far this year.

"There were 446,136 traffic violations until November this year, as against 487,148 in 2010," he said.

The Coastguard dealt with 108 cases of crossing regional waters and 108 cases of maritime ban, while Customs Affairs dealt with 184 violations.

"We will work harder this year to further reduce the crime rate and ensure safe and secure living for all," said the spokesman.

"The Bahrain Police today is not only determined to fight crime but also to prevent it.

Reforms

"To do that, we use state-of-the-art technology and keep in touch with the community and interact with it to maintain peace and security.

He said the attention of the police was also on reforms.

"Therefore, we have decided to appoint senior and prominent police and security specialists from the UK and the US. This should give a fillip to our performance," said the spokesman.

He said the ministry had introduced many advanced systems this year to enhance efficiency.

They include the launching of e-archives for Bahraini passports that has been completed in association with the ministry's Planning and Organisation Directorate and the Central Informatics Organisation.

The General Directorate of Crime Detection and Forensic Science has also introduced a new Genetic Analyser 3500xl DNA device.

The spokesman said the directorate had formed a forensic team assigned to visit security directorates daily to photograph and carry out detainees' DNA tests.

He said this year witnessed the first batch of policewomen to join the Civil Defence to undertake various tasks.

He said that the Police Media Centre website had so far attracted 3,67,744 visitors, while issuing 1,477 Press releases and posting more than 2,500 tweets. – TradeArabia News Service