VIOLENT crime in York has plummeted by nearly one-fifth since late-night drinking was introduced.

Critics feared relaxing licensing laws would bring mayhem to the city's streets, but senior police officers say the opposite has happened.

From April 1 to November 21, last year, there were 2,887 cases in York, but this fell to 2,397 for the same period this year - a fall of 17 per cent.

In Selby, there was a 24 per cent drop, from 896 cases to 681.

In York's "cumulative impact zone," which includes Micklegate and Rougier Street, the results were even greater. Between January and May, violent crime in the city-centre zone fell by 42 per cent year-on-year. In the first five months of 2006, there were 402 cases, down from 234 the previous year.

Within the Bar Walls as a whole, there was a drop of 33 per cent, from 614 cases to 414.

Chief Inspector Andy Hirst said: "It appears we are doing the most where it is having the biggest affect, and it is the city centre that has been most affected by the licensing act.

"Violent crime peaked in August 2005, but since then it has been coming down steadily month by month.

"There was a little bit of a peak this summer where the reduction slowed a bit, but summer is clearly the biggest time for that."

He said: "The changes to licensing laws have had a big impact. We no longer get those real peaks in violence where there is a sudden influx of people coming out of the pubs and going to nightclubs at about 11 o'clock."

City of York Council's licensing chief John Lacy said the reforms had been successful. As well as crime falling, he said litter problems had come down, but noise nuisance has increased due to premises being open later.

He praised licensees for embracing the changes in a responsible way, and said new conditions had helped ensure the changes had gone smoothly.

  • See tomorrow's Press for an in-depth analysis on how the changes to the licensing laws have worked.