Halifax saw 194 fewer violent crimes in the second quarter of 2012 compared to the same period last year, a decrease of more than 20 per cent.

The dip in violent crime contributed to an overall decrease in criminal code offences of 789, or 11.6 per cent over second quarter 2011, according to stats released by Halifax District RCMP and the Halifax Regional Police yesterday.

Drug offences in the second quarter were up slightly, with five more offences or a 1.52 per cent increase over 2011. Property crimes, which account for about half of the overall criminal code violations in Halifax, showed a decrease of 56 incidents, resulting in a 12.9 per cent.

HRP, which polices the majority of the urban core, saw a larger decrease in overall crime (-10.23 per cent) than the RCMP (-7.56 per cent), which covers the outlying areas of the municipality.

Quarter over quarter stat comparisons are typically more volatile than year over year trends.