Iqaluit (Aug 21/06) - Crime in Nunavut took a major dip last year, dropping more than 11 per cent, according to figures released by Statistics Canada.

The agency's annual crime report shows violent crime in the territory dropped 11.1 per cent last year, while property crimes decreased by 21.1 per cent. Those declines are the largest in Canada.

But Nunavut still has Canada's highest rate of violent crime, nearly 10 times the rate in Quebec, the province with the lowest rate of violent crime. Only the Northwest Territories had a higher overall crime rate.

The number of murders in Nunavut dropped 50 per cent from four to two last year, though the number of robberies increased four-fold.

The largest declines among property crimes were in auto thefts, which dropped 32 per cent, and in counterfeiting, which fell 26 per cent.

Cpl. Randy Slawson of the Iqaluit RCMP said the drop in crime isn't something police would notice on a daily basis, and likely varies between communities.

"Some communities may notice a change, some may not," he said.

He said police have tried to target illegal drug and alcohol sales, which typically are associated with violent crime.