FIGURES have shown a decrease in crime and anti-social behaviour in North Yorkshire compared to the year before.

With a vision for the county to ‘Be Safe, Feel Safe’, Police and Crime Commissioner Julia Mulligan has welcomed the official figures for what remains as one of the ‘safest’ counties in the country.

“The continued reduction in crime and anti-social behaviour is very welcome, albeit crime is only down very marginally,” she said.

“This still represents really good progress, especially when considering surrounding counties have higher crime rates, and roughly 30 per cent of our crime comes from over our borders.

“There are always challenges though, and we are nearing the point where the fall in crime is flattening off.

"We have specific issues we need to address on crimes like domestic abuse and hate crime, where we know incidents are not always reported.

"We need to ensure we instill confidence in the public that their concerns will be taken seriously. This might in part be addressed by new funding secured by my office to increase support services for victims of some of these crimes.”