RECORDED crime has increased in West Yorkshire by more than 13 per cent, according to latest figures, though police chiefs are putting this down, mostly, to improved crime recording.

Data released by the Office for National Statistics shows the district recorded 260,024 crimes in the 12 months to December 2017.

However, the numbers are still below the national average though they do not include fraud offences.

Deputy Chief Constable of West Yorkshire Police John Robins said: “The increases in recorded crime are in line with what is being experienced nationally; in fact the West Yorkshire increase of 13.3 per cent is lower than the national increase of 15.3 per cent.

"As we have said before, much of this increase is still the result of improved crime recording practice and increased confidence by the public to report crimes. Under five per cent of the increase relates to an actual increase in being the victim of a crime.

“The hard work and commitment of our officers and staff has already been acknowledged by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) with a ‘Good’ overall rating for West Yorkshire Police in its recent inspection.

"We are continuing to build on that and we are continuing to work hard to reduce crime and anti-social behaviour.“In March 2018 we have had an uplift in our neighbourhood policing teams resources and this demonstrates our commitment to improving our service to the public. Our police officers and staff in NPTs are working closely with partner agencies to prevent crime, anti-social behaviour and other issues which harm our local communities.

"However it should be recognised that we are policing in an extremely challenging and complex environment, with finite resources. And of those resources, we are having to dedicate more of them to safeguarding, cyber-crime and organised crime, in roles that are not always visible on the streets of West Yorkshire.

"We are also experiencing extra demand due to the increased calls for service from people requiring our help and attending incidents involving vulnerable people.

“It is clear that crime and demand have been steadily increasing at a time that both our workforce and financial resources have been reducing.”

Nationally, police have registered sharp increases in knife and gun crime, official figures have revealed, fuelling fresh concern over spiralling levels of violence.

Forces in England and Wales also recorded rises in homicide and robbery last year as statisticians warned "high-harm" offences were on the rise.

The findings prompted scrutiny of the Government's efforts to make Britain's streets safer, while Labour seized on the data to pile fresh pressure on Home Secretary Amber Rudd after she faced calls to resign over the Windrush scandal.

Ministers said overall levels of crime are stable but acknowledged some of the rise in police-recorded violence is genuine.

The figures published for surrounding police forces are: South Yorkshire 144,980 (up 30%); Humberside 85,518 (up 15%) and North Yorkshire 38,478 (up 5%).

The highest surge in recorded crime was Durham 60,541 (up 40%) and the lowest, City of London 5,338 (down 1%).

Separate national figures show that last year 47 per cent of investigations into recorded offences concluded without a suspect being identified. The percentage assigned this outcome was down slightly on 2016.