A fifth of households in Northern Ireland were hit by crime last year but the rate is falling, according to a British government survey.
According to the poll of 3,010 adults aged 16 and over in private households, 19.7 per cent of people suffered a crime between September 1st, 2000, and August 31st, 2001 - a drop of almost 4 per cent from 23 per cent in 1997.
The rate of crime in Northern Ireland households was three quarters the rate in England and Wales at 26.8 per cent.
The survey measured incidents not related to paramiltary or sectarian-related crimes.
Belfast remained the area with the highest level of crime, with 28 per cent of people being victims. The west of the North reported the lowest crime rate at 14 per cent, with the east experiencing 21 per cent.
People in Belfast were also more likely to experience more than one crime, with 10 per cent reporting more than one incident compared with 7 per cent in the east of Northern Ireland and 3 per cent in the west.
Victimisation rates for property offences in the North were also lower than England and Wales. But the level of violent crime was similar, with 3.4 per cent in Northern Ireland and 3.7 per cent in England and Wales.
Young men aged between 16 and 24 were the most likely victims of violent crime at 16.6 per cent; women aged 75 and over were the least likely. Half of all crimes (49.5 per cent) were reported to police, compared to 41 per cent in 1997, the survey said.
Over a third of victims who did not report a crime said the "police could not have done anything", while a fifth felt "the police would not have been bothered or interested."
PA