AMID the deepening gloom surrounding Gordon Brown is a speck of light that deserves to shine far more brightly - the dramatic fall in crime.

Most of the country may not realise it, but we are experiencing an historic decline in the offences - robbery, burglary and car crime - that blight lives the most.

This paper has recently reported year-on-year falls in Darlington (24 per cent), Northumbria (15 per cent), North Yorkshire (7.7 per cent) and Hartlepool (3.8 per cent).

But this is also the happy picture across most of Britain. Nationally, recorded crime fell by 12 per cent in the final quarter of 2007 on the back of 17 successive quarters of decline or flat figures.

There is even cautious good news to tell about gun crime. The number of people shot dead fell from 56 in 2006 to 49 in 2007 and there were 355 seriously injured in shootings, down from 424.

And the British Crime Survey (BCS) - the best test of what's happening, because it quizzes 40,000 people - says the risk of becoming a victim of crime is at its lowest level since the survey began in 1981.

Furthermore, criminologists appear to agree that all this is no accident - pointing to better security and better policing, as well as economic good times, as key reasons.

Apparently, the police have reaped rewards from moving away from simply "solving the crime" to targeting prolific and repeat offenders and tackling the root causes of their offending, such as drug addiction.

Meanwhile, the growth of neighbourhood policing has increased the flow of intelligence from communities and, hence, convictions for drugs, burglary, criminal damage and vandalism.

So, given that few issues are more important than crime, why did one recent poll give the Tories a gaping 22 point lead as the party most trusted to deliver on lawlessness?

Well, perhaps this glorious collection of headlines from the latest crime statistics explains a lot: Gun Crime Every Hour, Eight Shot Each Day As Gun Crime Soars, Sixty Victims A Week As Gun Crime Rises.

Northern Echo readers get the facts on crime.

Those people turning to our more rabid national newspapers are not so fortunate.

Hence, scanning the newstands, a headline of Home Secretary Praised as Crime Plummets is about as likely as MPs Work Long Hours For Relatively Low Pay (true).

Nevertheless, fear of crime may also - finally - be falling. Those "very worried" about violent crime were down from 17 per cent to 15 per cent and those anxious about burglary and car crime from 13 per cent to 12 per cent.

As I said, a speck of light - and certainly not enough to save the Prime Minister from a drubbing in today's local elections.

TALKING of headlines, this one - Blair To Return To Parliament - must have sent a shiver down Gordon Brown's spine.

Just for a second, I thought the former Sedgefield MP had thrown his hat in the ring for the vacant Crewe seat, but no - he's speaking to a select committee inquiry next week.

The former prime minister will no doubt pack them in and it will be a fascinating opportunity to compare porridge and caviar, as Lord Desai would put it.

They used to say Mr Blair's real talent was acting. When he is asked how his successor is doing, we will find out.