Less than a quarter of crimes in the North last year were detected by police, it was revealed today.
New figures, revealed in PSNI chief constable Mr Hugh Orde's first annual report, show that out of more than 142,000 offences reported to police, less than 33,000 were cleared - a rate of just 23 per cent.
The figures were even worse in urban regions, where detection rates were as low as 15 per cent with an average of 17.4 per cent.
Mr Orde said lack of resources and a shortage of experienced detectives had continued to place great strain on the service.
The statistics showed a small improvement in the clear-up rate with an increase of 2.9 per cent on the number of offences dealt with in the previous year.
Members of the Policing Board said the low rates reflected manpower problems caused by the reforms in policing over the last few years.
The DUP's Mr Ian Paisley Jr blamed the figures on the fallout from the Patten Report on changes to policing, which drastically reduced the numbers of officers.
But Mr Joe Byrne, an SDLP representative on the board, said the report had demonstrated a marginal improvement over the past year.
The report also revealed that more than £18 million sterling in illegal drugs and counterfeit goods were seized by the PSNI last year.