The force's annual crime figures show there were 18,337 incidents last year - almost 1,000 more than in the previous 12 months.

Officers blame the rise partly on a change to the way incidents of violent crime are recorded, but also said there was a national increase.

The total number of recorded crimes fell by more than 4% to just under 100,000 incidents in the year.

Underage drinkers

Derbyshire Constabulary's Assistant Chief Constable (Operations), Mick Creedon said the force is implementing a variety of methods to reduce violence, much of which is alcohol-related.

He said: "There was recently a very successful scheme in Ilkeston and Long Eaton aimed at reducing the number of underage drinkers which had a knock-on effect on reducing the number of violent crimes."

The crime figures show the number of burglaries of peoples' homes fell by 871 to 7,680, and other burglaries fell by 1,542 to 8,372.

Vehicle crime and robbery also dropped.