A POLICE force has been praised by the Home Office for recording the second lowest crime rate in England.

North Yorkshire Police reduced crime in its area to 46,496 offences between October 2008 and September last year.

The report states that North Yorkshire is one of the safest areas in the country – behind Norfolk – to live with just 59 crimes per 1,000 population.

The Home Office statistics show crime is also down in the Cleveland, Durham and Northumbria force areas.

Crime fell by 16 per cent in the Cleveland area – a rate of 92 crimes per 1,000 people.

Northumbria Police recorded an 11 per cent fall, with 69 crimes per 1,000, while crime in County Durham fell by four per cent, with 73 crimes per 1,000.

In North Yorkshire, there were 2,400 fewer victims of crime over the period than between October 2007 and September 2008.

Between September 2008 and October last year house burglary cases fell by 420, which is the second highest reduction in England.

Vehicle crime over the same period was reduced with 709 fewer offences recorded in North Yorkshire.

The release of these figures coincides with the latest findings of the British Crime Survey which reveals public confidence in North Yorkshire Police continues to grow.

The survey states that 51.2 per cent of people believe the police and local councils are dealing with anti-social behaviour and crime compared with the national average of 50.4 per cent.

Grahame Maxwell, North Yorkshire’s chief constable, said: “These figures are very encouraging.

“They reflect the hard work and commitment of both the police and our partners.

“We cannot, however, be complacent and accept that to meet our confidence targets, despite being one of the safest areas of the UK, we still have lots of work to do.

“We will meet this challenge head-on and work even harder to ensure we continue to be one of the safest areas in England and that we deliver the best possible policing service to our communities.”