The police conceded, however, that despite statistics, several grave crimes were committed last year impacting the subjective feeling of safety.
Twenty-one murders were committed, seven more than in 2004. The police resolved 58 per cent of reported criminal acts, up five per cent from the year before.
General crime was down 17 per cent and robberies were down 11 per cent. Betting shops, stores, pharmacies, posts and banks were the most targeted. Sixteen banks were robbed in 2005, ten more than the year before.
Criminal acts committed by minors fell 3.8 per cent, although the number of underage perpetrators went up 10.5 per cent. Minors were also the victims of 889 criminal acts, mostly neglect and abuse, while domestic violence saw six women killed and three raped.
There were 2,101 drug busts and the age of perpetrators was increasingly lower. Last year also saw 26 overdose deaths.
Economic crimes went down 17.6 per cent, with 1,140 cases reported. The damage committed in cases resolved by the police was 163 million kuna.
Forty-five road accidents occurred daily in 2005, with an average 13 people injured per day. One person was killed every three days, while 113 were killed, 739 seriously and 3,978 lightly injured in a total of 16,600 traffic accidents.
(EUR1 = 7.3 kuna)