The number of crimes committed dropped in absolute numbers, by 1,400 from 2016 to 44,252 in 2017.
The crime rate rose in some cities and declined in others over the past year. With 488 crimes recorded in 2017, Valmiera was the city with the lowest crime rate last year.
The number of grave crimes in Latvia dropped by 9.6% last year, Kalnmeiers said, describing it as a significant reduction. The number of less serious crimes declined by 1% and the number of criminal offenses was down 12%.
The number of especially grave crimes, however, increased from 1,740 in 2016 to 1,752 last year.
Last year, Latvia recorded 2,180 crimes per 100,000 inhabitants, down 47 from 2016.
At the same meeting, Kalnmeiers said that the number of bribery-related crimes recorded in Latvia last year declined as compared with a year before.
Most of the bribery cases were investigated by the Internal Security Bureau, which probes motorists' attempts to bribe traffic police.
