THE Isle of Man was described as "the safest place in Britain"by Chief Constable Mike Langdon when he announced the lowest crime levels since 1981 in May.

The Chief Constable said crime in the Island had fallen for the third consecutive year and was down 38 percent over the period. Crime detection figures of more than 50 percent were a long way ahead of the British Isles.

Chief Constable Langdon said the Isle of Man's statistics were the best in Britain and compared very favorably with similar jurisdictions including Jersey, Guernsey and Gibraltar. 

He also paid tribute to the five teams that are part of the Neighborhood Policing Plan which he said felt had made a significant contribution in achieving crime reductions.

The Island community was also congratulated as being "much more willing" to come forward to report crime.

Chief Constable Langdon said: "Burglaries in peoples' homes are the lowest for a decade and assaults and criminal damage have reduced by around 45 percent in three years.

"It's further evidence of the efficacy of the Neighbourhood Policing model and demonstrates the benefits of working with the community to solve local issues at a local level.

"I would like to place on record my thanks to all police officers, special constabulary, support staff and community volunteers who have contributed to these outstanding achievements."

An area of improvement going forward was cited as making residents more aware of opportunistic crime such as leaving cars, doors and windows locked.

He concluded: "Many crimes are preventable and it only needs people to be more aware of not creating the opportunity for crime to take place."