EFE
The preliminary proceedings initiated last year decreased by 4.06 percent in the Canary Islands, according to data from the Report of the State Attorney General's Office corresponding to 2004.
During the past year, 194,610 preliminary proceedings were registered in the Canary Islands, while in 2003 there were 186,694, which represents 7,916 fewer proceedings. In the province of Las Palmas, the courts investigated 101,433 preliminary proceedings, while in 2003 there were 96,115, so the decrease in 2004 was 5,318, that is, 5.24 percent less.
In Santa Cruz de Tenerife, last year there were 93,177 proceedings, 2,598 less than in 2003, which were 90,579; the decrease was 2.79 percent. In addition to the Canary Islands, the crime rate decreased in eight other autonomous communities compared to 2003, especially in Aragon, with a decrease of 12.05 percent, and the Valencian Community, with 9.84 percent, and increased in the rest, more significantly in the Balearic Islands, by 16.75 percent.
In Spain as a whole, a total of 3,956,078 preliminary proceedings were initiated, which represents a reduction of 0.50 percent compared to 2003. The Report explains that these data do not correspond exactly to the number of crimes, since some may not have been
reported and others may give rise to more than one procedure.
After Aragon and the Valencian Community, the decrease in preliminary proceedings was greater in Asturias (-5.75 percent) and Canary Islands (-4.06 percent), followed by Galicia (-2.85 percent), Castilla y León (-2.67 percent), Cantabria (-2.39 percent), Catalonia (-2.09 percent) and Madrid (-0.53 percent).