NEW figures have confirmed North Yorkshire is in the top three safest places in England and Wales.

The Crime Statistics for England and Wales, year ending March 2016 report, has placed the North Yorkshire Police area as the third lowest crime location alongside Devon and Cornwall and Dyfed-Powys.

There were a total of 37,299 crimes in North Yorkshire giving a crime rate of 46.3 per 1,000 of the population. While this reflects an 7.7 per cent rise in crime, in comparison to the same period the previous year, it is below the 8.7 per cent increase in England and Wales and takes into account improved crime recording standards nationally.

The Crime Survey for England and Wales also shows that anti-social behaviour is at an all-time low in North Yorkshire, with a rate of 36 per 1,000 of the population with 29,302 reports. This reflects a reduction from 38 per 1,000 of the population in the previous year, and a steady and consistent reduction from a rate of 65 per 1,000 of the population in March 2008 when there were 49,903 reports.

Assistant Chief Constable Lisa Winward said: “It is pleasing to see that North Yorkshire remains one of the very safest and low-crime areas in the country.

“We are continuing to work hard alongside our community partners to protect the quality of life by actively targeting crime and tackling anti-social behaviour.”

ACC Winward added: “Any rise in recorded crime is naturally a cause for concern and it is something that we are keeping a very close eye on. It is important to stress that North Yorkshire Police is never complacent when it comes to protecting our communities.

“However, there is a national context to the increases with more consistent and robust crime recording practices being implemented across the country. North Yorkshire Police, like other police forces, is also rising to the challenge of dealing with the growing issue of cybercrime and other online-related offences including fraud.”