Crispian Strachan said the crime figures were encouraging

Reported crime in the force area was down 4% for the quarter ending September 2003 compared to the same period in 2002.

The fall compares favourably with crime figures across the country which remained unchanged.

The region had fewer reported incidents of house burglary and robbery than the national average.

Sexual offences in the force area fell by 12% compared with a nationwide rise of 8%, and criminal damage fell slightly against a national increase of 7%.

However, violent crime increased by 4% but only by a quarter of the national rate which was 17%.

Encouraging figures

An additional government report on firearms offences for 2002/3 showed a local increase on the previous year, with seven offences per 100,000 people living in the Northumbria area, but this was less than half the national average.

Northumbria Police Chief Constable Crispian Strachan said the figures were encouraging for people in the area.

He said: "We still have work to do around anti-social behaviour where community beat managers are working very hard with partners to tackle the problems which cause concern in our communities.

"But if the public continues to make life difficult for criminals by protecting themselves and their property and reporting criminal behaviour to us, we can tackle the issues together and improve the area for everyone."