County’s crime rate falls for tenth consecutive year

Figures released by Derbyshire Constabulary show that in the year ending April 1, overall crime has reduced by 16.3 per cent from 61,483 incidents in 2011/12 to 51,400 in 2012/13, meaning there were more than 10,000 fewer victims this year compared to last.

Chief Constable Mick Creedon said: “It’s brilliant news that there has now been ten consecutive years of crime reduction here in Derbyshire.

“These figures show a fall in crime of more than 50 per cent since 2002/03, which means 52,000 fewer victims than ten years ago; that’s 1,000 fewer each week.

“These latest figures are excellent and show once again that Derbyshire is increasingly a safe place to live in, work in and visit.

“The statistics are a reflection of the hard work done each day by police officers and staff, but just as much reflect the effort and commitment of partner organisations, communities, volunteers and all justice agencies.

“Derbyshire police are just one part of this wider group, all working together to make the county safer for everyone.

“Our crime decrease last year was one of the biggest seen by any force in the country but we do recognise that these figures are only based on the Home Office counting rules and cover many, but not all, types of incident that blight communities and harm the public.”

Figures show that during the last year, house burglary fell by 12 per cent from 3,262 incidents to 2,855, violent crime saw a 14 per cent reduction from 14,370 to 12,290 while vehicle crime dropped by six per cent from 5,261 to 4,920. Criminal damage reduced by 24 per cent from 11,577 to 8,755.