CRIME in North Yorkshire jumped by almost 15 per cent last year, according to the latest Home Office figures.

But the rise was predicted last year when changes were introduced to the way the figures are collated, police said.

According to the county's police force, the underlying trend in the crime statistics is that the generally low crime rate has remained steady.

Last year, the force predicted the figures would show a considerable leap because of the new system.

There was a 14.6 per cent rise, from 59,149 to 67,798.

The largest increase in numbers of crimes recorded were in vandalism, common assault and theft, from individuals and vehicles - all of which are categories affected by the changed rules.

Burglary, which is not as influenced by the new rules, was down across the county and the detection rate was up.

Deputy Chief Constable Peter Walker said: "I welcome the more detailed counting rules, which give value to people's concerns as well as to actual crimes committed. The crime figures now give us a much clearer picture than a few years ago, enabling us to deploy staff to areas where crime is known to happen."

He said the year had placed stress on the force with extra responsibilities for anti-terrorism protective work, but it had been an achievement to hold the line on crime and to set in place measures which will improve the force's performance still further.

They have included putting more officers on the beat, investing in technology like the Automatic Number Plate Recognition system and streamlining procedures to free officers from red tape, enabling more time to be spent on patrols and on crime detection.