Keeping ‘safest’ status will be tough, say police in North Yorkshire

Police-recorded data for last year shows the number of offences fell by 2.2 per cent across the county, meaning it has the lowest crime rate in England.

The number of offences recorded by police fell for three of Yorkshire’s forces last year. Humberside Police saw five fewer offences than the previous year, though when fraud was excluded crime rose by two per cent.

In North Yorkshire there were 769 fewer victims of crime compared to 2012, with a total of 34,472 offences. The number of domestic burglaries and thefts fell, though more robberies and sexual offences were recorded.

North Yorkshire Police Chief Constable Dave Jones said: “As we have already achieved a significant reduction in crime in recent years, reducing it further poses a constant challenge.”

Julia Mulligan, North Yorkshire’s police commissioner, said: “Maintaining North Yorkshire’s status as the safest county in England will be tough, especially being surrounded by seven counties with higher crime rates than ours. I am confident though that the Chief Constable has put solid plans in place to fight crime and anti-social behaviour, and we will continue to work together with our partners to prioritise the most vulnerable in our society.”