Crime in Northumbria is down once again - with over 15,000 fewer victims over the past year.

Northumbria Police's annual figures show yet another drop in total crime - down to 89,790 offences for 2009/10 compared to 105,234 the previous year, a reduction of nearly 15%.

And findings from the British Crime Survey show people's confidence that police and councils are dealing with issues of concern has improved by almost 8% over the past year.
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Violent crime is down by 12%, from 19,147 to 16,855 offences, while robbery fell by almost 22% from 732 to 572 offences over the past year.

There were over 1,900 fewer burglaries in the force area last year, with house burglaries alone down 21% from 4,922 to 3,876 offences.

The past year has also seen falls in car crime, fraud, criminal damage and drugs offences.

The number of sexual offences went up from 989 to 1,156 offences, put partly down to increased police activity around the crime with the introduction of a specialised Rape Investigation Team and a region-wide awareness campaign, all encouraging more victims to come forward and report offences.

The force's detection rate for crimes for the past year also stood at almost 40%, that's 10% higher than the national average and the fourth highest detection rate in the country.

"The fact we've driven down crime levels yet again is a great achievement for the force," said Temporary Chief Constable Sue Sim.

"Northumbria Police has a well-earned reputation as one of the best performing forces in the country and we intend to keep it that way.

"We're putting a huge amount of effort and resources into making our communities feel safer and increasing confidence in their police. The figures show this work is continuing to tackle actual crime, and this will help us to reduce the fear of crime.

"As ever this was a real team effort. This year on year reduction would not be possible without the dedication of all Northumbria Police employees, Northumbria Police Authority, whose help and support has provided us with the resources to do the job, our partners across the region and most importantly, the people in our communities who continue to back their local police force.

"While pleased that our work has helped bring yet another drop in crime for our communities we are not complacent and we know we still have work to do, particularly to further increase public confidence, and this will remain a priority for the coming year."

Councillor Mick Henry, Chair of Northumbria Police Authority said: "Northumbria Police continue to make strides forward and these latest figures will be welcomed by all the Police Authority members.

"Crime figures have fallen again because of the commitment and hard work of one of the best police forces in the country. The Authority provides support to the force to make sure they have all the tools needed to fight crime and make Northumbria a safer place for people to live, work or visit.

"We listen to your views about what you want from the police and the Authority will continue to drive forward local needs across the whole of Northumbria to reduce crime and in particular the fear of crime."

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