CRIME has continued to fall in York and North Yorkshire, new figures have revealed.

Statistics for the period from April 1 to December 31 last year show a reduction in reported crime of 582 offences compared to the same period in 2007, when there were 37,950 crimes in total.

But despite the overall rate dropping by 1.5 per cent, officers say they are still concerned by the increase in burglary, robbery and auto-crime.

The Press reported yesterday how the number of burglaries across York surged between 2006 and last year.

Grahame Maxwell, chief constable of North Yorkshire Police, said: “It is pleasing to see that the hard work of our officers and staff has resulted in an overall reduction in crime, and, despite the current economic challenges, we are on track to meet our crime reduction targets for the year.

“However, the increase in specific types of crime is of concern to us and as a result, we have stepped up preventative and problem-solving activity with extra resources ploughed into these areas.

“We have put several measures in place, including our current crime reduction initiative Operation Drystone, which will take extra resources and high-visibility patrols into hot-spot areas.” The figures also reveal that incidences of violent crime decreased by 969, to 6,832. But they showed that the number of “serious acquisitive crimes” – which include burglary, robbery, theft and auto-crime – rose by 640, to 6,138.