The number of criminal cases in the country dropped slightly last year after rising for two consecutive years, pushing up the public's sense of security.

Police handled about 4.64 million criminal cases last year, down 1.5 percent over the previous year, according to figures released by the Ministry of Public Security yesterday.

It is the first drop since 2002, when 4.33 million criminal cases were recorded, a fall from 4.45 million for the previous year, ministry spokesman Wu Heping told a press conference.

There were 4.39 million cases in 2003 and 4.71 million in 2004.

Violent crimes including explosions, arson, murder, rape and kidnapping saw a sharp drop of 14.8 percent because of a series of police crackdowns.

This has led to a 1 percentage point rise in the public sense of security, according to a survey released last week by the National Bureau of Statistics.

About 92 percent of 104,107 respondents from 967 cities and counties nationwide said they feel that society is safe or comparatively safe, compared to 91 percent in the previous two years.

The figures for 2001 and 2002 were 81 percent and 84 percent.

However, Li Yong, a senior columnist of Beijing News, told China Daily that criminal cases should not be the only gauge of a sense of public security.

"The social environment including employment, education, medical care and food safety should be taken into account as well," he said.

Violent crime and public disorder are listed as two major indices affecting the sense of public security, the survey shows.

Railway stations, long-distance bus stations and passenger docks were rated as the most dangerous places.

Ministry figures also show economic crimes were on a steady rise last year, reaching 72,000 compared to 68,000 in 2004.

Cases involving copyright violations almost doubled over the previous year, which "directly caused the rise of overall economic crimes," Wu said.

"It also reflects our strong commitment to fighting copyright violations."

Also noticeable is the high incidence of theft and robbery, which accounts for 80 percent of the total criminal cases. "Though the number has dropped slightly over the previous year, it remains a concern," Wu said.

The ministry warned that thefts and robberies inside or near banks rose rapidly, with the victims mostly women and elderly people.

It advised people not to take large amounts of cash while traveling, especially during the approaching Spring Festival season, which always witnesses a large number of crimes.

Wu called on the public to remain vigilant in public places.

"The number of criminal cases could have dropped 60 percent if the public took basic precautions," the spokesman said.

(China Daily January 20, 2006)