York's crime falls by over 16 per cent - more than national average

2.02.00am BST (GMT +0100) Thu 17th Jul 2008

Crime in York has fallen by 16.4% in the last year according to the British Crime Survey. There were nearly 13, 304 crimes in 2006/7 and in 2007/8 there were 11,119 crimes - a decrease of 16.4%.

York's crime levels are falling much faster than in the country as a whole; new figures published today show that crime across England and Wales has fallen by 10 per cent, according to the British Crime Survey, or 9 per cent according to police records. York is also doing well across the region, with York and Hull the best performing cities for crime levels across Yorkshire.

Vehicle crime in York has fallen by 31%, domestic burglaries have fallen by 8.6%, violent crime has fallen by 5.5% and criminal damage has fallen by 11.75%.

Crime across Yorkshire and the Humber has fallen by 10 per cent, with North Yorkshire's figures down by 8 per cent, according to police records.

Responding to this news, Cllr Keith Orrell, Lib Dem representative on the North Yorkshire Police Authority said: "I am delighted that crime across North Yorkshire has fallen by 8 per cent, and that here in York crime has fallen by more than double that average. It shows that York's Police and Police Community Support Officers are tackling crime very effectively. Figures show our performance is improving in tackling many types of crime, and tend to compare well with national averages."

Cllr Andrew Waller, Leader of the Council, said today: "I welcome the news that crime is falling faster in York than the rest of the country, showing that York is a relatively safe place to live, and would like to pay tribute to the improved police presence in the city and the stability of the neighbourhood police teams. The Liberal Democrats are very supportive of the successful and increased joint working between the police, council and other partners tackling crime together, which is reflected in these excellent figures."

Looking at the longer-term picture, community safety has improved well over the last 3 years, with very high reductions in crime levels. The 3-year Community Safety Plan came to an end in March 2008, and performance figures show that York will achieve a 37 per cent fall in crime over this 3-year period, significantly exceeding the target set by the Home Office.