RECORDED crime in the North-East and North Yorkshire has risen sharply, but police last night said it was not out of control.

Figures out today show forces across the region are suffering from huge rises in the number of offences reported to them, with the total number of crimes up almost 12 per cent.

But Home Office experts said the results were skewed by changes introduced last year to the way police record crimes, and that there was, in fact, a two per cent fall.

They said numbers were inflated by the new National Crime Recording Standard (NCRS), under which more incidents are classified as crimes.

The system means minor assaults and domestic arguments are classed as violent crimes, and it is in this category where the biggest increases have occurred.

Statistics show a 50 per cent increase in violence across the force areas of Durham, Cleveland, Northumbria and North Yorkshire.

Overall, the four forces recorded 358,300 crimes in 2002-03, compared to 320,457 the previous year, an increase of 11.9 per cent.

Separate figures from the annual British Crime Survey, based on interviews with 40,000 adults, backs up the argument that crime is falling.

It suggested crime dropped two per cent, and that the risk of being a victim was at a low.

All forces pointed to reductions in other areas, such as burglary, where Cleveland had an 11 per cent fall, and Durham a 23 per cent drop.

Durham Deputy Chief Constable Jon Stoddart said: "We are very pleased with the burglary figures. They show Durham Constabulary is continually setting, achieving and even surpassing some difficult existing targets."

Cleveland Chief Constable Sean Price said: "A 2.5 per cent increase in total crime is slightly less than that anticipated for the force through the counting changes."

Northumbria Chief Constable Crispian Strachan said: "We will have a much clearer view of underlying crime trends later this year when we are able to compare ongoing figures against those recorded under the new standard."

North Yorkshire Deputy Chief Constable Peter Walker described the county as "one of the safest and most crime-free places in the country" putting aside the "blips" caused by the NCRS.