IN THE HERALD

The NSW Police Force claimed an 85 per cent clear-up rate for the 16,702 crimes reported for the year. The chief commissioner, Walter Childs, said that 6598 persons had been arrested. Property stolen during the year totalled 132,421 and the amount recovered totalled 141,976, the difference being property stolen in previous years. "The state has been reasonably free of serious crime - that is, organised and systematic crime - and even then most crimes committed are speedily cleared up."