West Yorkshire Police chiefs today admitted the public remained concerned about crime levels despite new figures showing offending is at a four-year low.

Recorded crimes in West Yorkshire for the year 2007-8 stood at 228,195, a nine per cent fall on the previous year, meaning there were 30,000 fewer victims of crime in the county.

The latest figures showed that:

  • robberies were down by 5.1 per cent
  • violent crime was down by 9.6 per cent – equal to 4,679 fewer victims
  • criminal damage plunged by more than 12 per cent
  • there were nearly 5,000 fewer victims of vehicle crime, a fall of 14 per cent.

“Overall crime is at a four-year low in the county, which is good news, but people’s concerns about crime remain high,” said Deputy Chief Constable David Crompton.

“Nevertheless, confidence in local policing has risen and our Neighbourhood Policing Teams are beginning to produce results by working with local communities.”

There was a small increase in the number of house burglaries, though over the last five years the number of victims has halved.

With knife crime becoming a major focus of Government policy, the figures revealed that 915 serious offences involved a knife in West Yorkshire, one in five offences, and 45 per cent of attempted murders involved the use of a knife, compared to the national figure of 37 per cent.

Deputy Chief Constable Crompton said all violent crime remained a concern.

But he said: “It is encouraging that over the last year we have seen a reduction in the most common but less serious violence, such as minor assaults in the street. There have also been fewer cases of vandalism, damage and vehicle crime and these tend to be the types of offence which people notice most.

“Our officers have done a good job this year in maintaining the momentum established in previous years. Our challenge now is to continue the downward trend, while at the same time providing people with a very visible and accessible service.”

Tom McGhie, chairman of West Yorkshire Police Feder-ation, said: “It is a testament to the work police officers have been doing over the years. It has been steady progress. What we need to do now is convert that into public reassurance that we are doing a good job.

“The public are still sceptical. We need to build up public reassurance.”

The overall detection rate in West Yorkshire stands at 24 per cent, below the national figure of 28 per cent.