There was more crime at the north end of the islands last year and less at the south end, according to the latest statistics from the Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General. The Masset RCMP detachment dealt with 670 criminal code offences during 2006, which works out to a crime rate of 298 offences per 1,000 population, according to the ministry. That rate is higher than the previous year, although not as high as 2004, when the rate reached 334 offences per 1,000 population. The Queen Charlotte detachment, by contrast, dealt with 372 criminal code offences during the past year, for a crime rate of 112 offences per 1,000 population. The south-end rate declined from the previous year's rate of 137. The Masset detachment covers the communities of Masset, Old Massett and Port Clements, while the Queen Charlotte detachment is responsible for policing in Tlell, Skidegate, Charlotte and Sandspit.