New methods of recording violent crime are being used

Violent crime across the north-east of England has risen by around 50% according to new Home Office figures, but this has been put down to a new recording system being used by police forces for the first time.

The latest statistics show the number of violent incidents in the Northumbria Police area has doubled in the past 12 months, according to latest data out on Thursday.

Recorded crime overall in the Northumbria Police force area has gone up by 25% within the year, and it is also on the rise in County Durham.

And if you live in Tyne and Wear you are more likely to be a victim of violent crime than the national average, with the statistics showing violent crime has gone up by 106% within Northumberland and Tyne and Wear.

Much of that can be put down to the fact that in the past year the police have been counting yobbish behaviour, common assault and harassment alongside crimes like domestic violence.

However, there has also been a real increase - there have been more sexual offences and robberies in the Northumbria area than there were the year before.

Burglary down

But there is good news for people living in County Durham, who are less likely to be a victim of violent crime than elsewhere in England, despite an increase in incidents last year.

Burglary has also gone down by 25% in County Durham compared to last year.

Durham also has the second best detection record in England - it has cleared up 34% of crimes in its area, and is second only to the tiny police force in the City of London. Northumbria is just behind, with a 31% detection rate.

Crime in Middlesbrough has fallen by nearly twice the national average, according to the figures, with a drop of 3.7% according to the statistics.

In Hartlepool, Stockton, Redcar and Cleveland and Darlington, a rise in crime has also been recorded.

In Middlesbrough, there has been a 23% fall in house burglaries, about 200 less a month than last year, and car crime has fallen by more than 8%, that around 500 less each month.

But violent crime against the person was up in Cleveland by 78% from 2001/02, to 6,283, again put down to the new recording system.

Detection rate

In the north-west of England, the latest figures show that Cumbria continues to have one of the lowest levels of crime in England and Wales.

Just over 37,500 offences were reported in Cumbria last year.

Of those, 6,104 were violent, 2,152 were house burglaries, and 1,246 reported offences involved the theft of a vehicle. All of these figures are below the national average.

The force's detection rate is above the national average of 24%, standing at 31%.