Crime figures released today show that North Yorkshire is bucking the national trend by recording a small decrease in recorded incidents.

And the crime rate for the county remains one of the lowest in England and Wales, with 7,434 crimes committed per 100,000 head of population - well below the national average.

Statistics released by the Home Office show that nationally, there has been a 2.2 per cent increase in the number of crimes reported to police.

But in North Yorkshire, the figures for April to September 1999 show a 0.1 per cent fall.

That means 54 fewer residents were the victims of crime.

Assistant Chief Constable Peter Walker welcomed the slight decrease in reported crime.

He said: "The figures are encouraging and reflect a great deal of hard work by our officers and we will continue to strive to reduce crime and the fear of crime."

He added: "Given the fundamental change which the force has recently been through, I have every reason to look to the future with great confidence."

For the first time, the statistics have been broken down by area to highlight the differences within forces.

They show that you are more than twice as likely to be the victim of a violent offence in the central policing area - which covers York and Selby - as in the eastern or western areas of the county.

And the rate for domestic burglaries in the central area is more than three times that elsewhere within North Yorkshire.

Mr Walker said the force was already taking steps to act on the inequalities.

He said: "We have identified the crime hot spots within York and will target our resources to them.

"I'm naturally a cautious person but I have every confidence that this targeted approach will be effective."

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