The Department of Police and Emergency Management’s annual report for 2017-18 was tabled in Parliament on Wednesday.

It showed the crime rate for the year was below the three year average.

Serious crime fell 15 per cent – down 86 offences after a 16 per cent rise in 2016-17.

Department secretary and Police Commissioner Darren Hine said Tasmanians could be reassured by the reduction in crime offences and strong clearance results.

“Total offences in Tasmania reduced by five per cent, following a 10 per cent increase the previous year,” Mr Hine said.

“We have work to do in some areas; the number of assaults increased and is above the three-year average.

“In a significant result, the clearance rate for offences reached 51 per cent, which is the highest level in 45 years.”

There were six established outlaw motorcycle gangs in Tasmania with 18 clubhouses or chapters and about 259 members.

Mr Hine said the roll out of body worn cameras to frontline officers and a trial of electronic monitoring devices for family violence perpetrators would improve safety.

The number of family violence incidents continued to increase with police recording 3,385 incidents.

“An increase in incidents does not necessarily mean that family violence is increasing; it could also suggest an increase in reporting to police, which would be positive,” Mr Hine said.

The report also showed there were 73 incidents involving firearms, higher than the previous three-year average.

It said that in 2017-18 there were 3375 firearms destroyed – up from 1426 the previous year.

Police conducted 478,219 random breath tests in 2017-18, a decrease from 505,445 in 2016-17.

Of those tested, 2173 drivers were charged with exceeding the prescribed alcohol limit or driving under the influence, compared with 2296 in 2016-17.

The number of search and rescue operations dropped to 12 per cent to 304 in 2017-18. There were 58 new police constables on the beat.

Police Minister Michael Ferguson said the government’s additional investment to increase police numbers and keep Tasmanians safe was clearly working.