Crispian Strachan: Standing still is not an option

Violent crime, sex offences, burglaries and car crime have all seen a fall, according to Northumbria Police.

The force says the figures are a more accurate reflection of its performance after a change in the way figures were collected prompted a rise in 2002/2003.

The force says overall crime fell by 5%, with reported offences dropping by almost 8,500 over the past 12 months.

According to the force, house burglary dropped by 8.5%, thefts from cars by 12%, car theft by 8% and robbery by 15%.

Total violent crime fell by 2% and, despite a number of suspicious deaths at the turn of the year, there was one less murder than the previous year - down from 19 to 18.

Sexual offences, including rape, fell by just under 1%.

'Impressive figures'

The number of incidents recorded as crime fell by 8,445 - from 165,496 down to 157,051.

Officers made 400 more arrests compared with last year, with the force achieving a detection rate of more than 30%.

Last year, changes in how crime was recorded nationally prompted a 19% increase in the number of offences recorded in the Northumbria force area, which takes in the cities of Newcastle and Sunderland.

Chief Constable Crispian Strachan added: "Although people in this area are less likely to become victims of crime than anywhere in the country, standing still is not an option.

"Staff at all levels and in every role are committed to tackling crime and improving community safety."

Councillor Mick Henry, chairman of Northumbria Police Authority, said: "These are impressive figures.

"Last year, new crime recording methods seemed to show that crime, especially violent crime, was rising.

"We were confident that this was not the case - this year's figures show that we were right."