RIGA, Feb. 13 (Xinhua) -- Latvia's crime rate has dropped to all-time low, state police chief Ints Kuzis told reporters Wednesday.
While the total number of criminal offenses decreased by nearly 1,000 over the past year to 43,260 in 2018, some types of crimes were still on the rise, including murders, Kuzis said as he looked back at last year's crime statistics and performance of the state police.
"Just like a year ago, I can assure that it is safe to live in Latvia. The year 2018 also showed that the general trends concerning public order, security and crime are under control. This gives us the sense of security and confidence," the police chief said.
Police statistics show that the number of thefts and robberies in Latvia declined last year but that that domestic quarrels turned violent increasingly often.
A total of 1,147 crimes recorded last year resulted in intentionally inflicted bodily injuries and the number of murders rose by five from a year before to 79 in 2018.
Alarmingly, the number of sex crimes committed against children grew by a third to 77 cases, Kuzis said, noting that such offenses often go unreported as many of them are committed by the victims' family members.
