RECORDED crime in North Yorkshire fell by four per cent last year - but

fewer than a third of those crimes which did take place were solved,

according to new figures.

A written Parliamentary answer shows the police force had a detection rate of 30.1 per cent in the year ending March 2001.

This is out of a total of 51,551 crimes that were reported to the police,

according to the Home Office statistics.

The detection rate is worse than in the previous year - when 31.1 per cent

of the 53,554 crimes were solved.

But it remains well above the national average for the year ending March

2001, which stood at 24.4 per cent.

The detection rate for domestic burglaries - of which there were 3,889 in the year to March 2001 - was 13.8 per cent.

This compares to a detection rate of 12.5 per cent of the 4,343 burglaries

which took place in the previous 12 months.

The detection rate for robberies was 32.8 per cent in the year to March

2001, down from 34.4 per cent.

The number of robberies committed fell from 212 to 186.

The figures come after the Evening Press revealed a significant drop in the number of special constables in North Yorkshire since Labour came to power in 1997. The police force has lost 151 special constables - about 45 per cent of its total strength.

Updated: 11:17 Wednesday, April 03, 2002