Crime in Shenzhen fell overall by more than 5 percent with a 10 percent drop in the number of thefts over the New Year holiday, the city's public security bureau said Wednesday.

"A total of 30,486 citizens reported crimes or sought assistance from the public security bureau," a spokesman said at a press conference.

He said there was a 5.4 percent fall in the total number of reported crimes compared with the same period last year, while reports of thefts decreased 10.3 percent compared with the corresponding period in 2006.

"Nobody died in fire or traffic accidents over the festival period," the spokesman added.

During the New Year holiday, more than 7,000 policemen were deployed citywide and 6,500 others were on duty for emergencies.

More than 4,000 policemen were also sent to the Citizens' Center on New Year's Eve for a countdown ceremony that attracted some 100,000 Shenzheners.

"To ensure a safe holiday, we launched a campaign before the festival to warn criminals we would be launching a crackdown over the holiday period," the spokesman said.

Seventy-nine suspects were arrested during the preholiday campaign and 43 criminal cases were cracked.

According to the bureau, one of the most serious crimes happened soon after the countdown.

"Ten people in a rented apartment in Shawan in Longgang District were robbed by five men armed with knives and cudgels. Three of the five robbers, who took 60,000 yuan (US$7,500) cash, three mobile handsets, two watches and two gold rings from the victims, were arrested soon after trying to escape from the scene," the bureau said. Police are still looking for the other two.

Editor: Yan