AS your local newspaper, The Press sometimes has to report on violent crimes rape, robbery, assault or even murder.

When such a crime is committed in York, it is big news. And it will carry a big headline: in no small part so we can help give police the best possible chance of solving it.

Some people, reading such headlines, may get the impression violent crime is rife in our city and region.

Actually, the reverse is true.

It is precisely because such crimes are relatively rare here that they make headlines.

If we truly lived in a crime-ravaged city, a rape or murder would merit little more than a paragraph or two.

Today, we carry a headline of a different type: violent crime in York and North Yorkshire is on the way down.

Good news isn't news, people sometimes say. Not true. The fact that violent crime indeed, all types of crime, even bike thefts are down in our region is very good news indeed. And it is news we are delighted to report.

North Yorkshire has bucked a national trend of rising crime. In our region, violent crime was down five per cent last year; burglaries six per cent; and criminal damage six per cent.

The Press will continue to report major crimes. That is our job. But all of us should remember how fortunate we are to live in a low-crime area. And we should be grateful to our police for making sure that those already low levels of crime are being driven down even further.

As the police like to say, the fear of crime can be almost as bad as being a victim of crime.

York and North Yorkshire may not be perfect. But we have less to fear from crime than most. That is the best news of all.