MORE people in North Yorkshire are living in fear of crime despite a dramatic fall in the number of incidents, new figures have revealed.

The Press told earlier this week how North Yorkshire Police is better at fighting crime than any other force of its type, with a 7.5 per cent reduction in crime so far this year.

But a police authority report reveals that despite the drop in crime, more people are afraid of becoming a victim.

Between April 1, 2007 and December 31, 2007 there was an 8.9 per cent fall in crime in the county - equal to a reduction of 3,709 crimes compared to the same time the previous year.

But despite the efforts of police, fear of crime has gone up in almost every category.

The report shows 10.4 per cent people are afraid of becoming victims of car crime, compared to 9.6 per cent the previous year.

North Yorkshire Police are ranked sixth in their group of police forces most similar to them and the fear of car crime is 1.9 per cent above the group average.

Fear of burglary is 9.3 per cent, compared with 8.1 per cent the year before for - placing North Yorkshire fifth in their group of most similar forces, 1.1 per cent above the average.

Fear of violent crime is 12.8 per cent, compared to 11.9 per cent the year before, and placing North Yorkshire seventh in their group and 1.9 per cent points above the average.

Perception of antisocial behaviour is 8.4 per cent, compared to 6.6 per cent last year, putting North Yorkshire Police at the top of their group in that respect.

Data from the British Crime Survey, which is only available up to June 30, 2007, shows there has been no change in the number of people who feel North Yorkshire Police do a good job, despite their progress.

Figures show 56 per cent of people have confidence in them, exactly the same as figure for the year before. That still places the force second in its group of most similar forces and 3.6 per cent above the average.

The Press told earlier this week how North Yorkshire Police is top of its "most similar forces" group, which ranks it in comparison to other forces of a similar size and geographical make-up, with just 16.052 crimes per 1,000 of the population.

They are also top of their league for the number of crimes they solve - with a detection rate of 33 per cent.

Violent crime is down by 4.2 per cent across the county compared to last year and domestic burglaries are already down by 12.3 per cent compared to last year against a target of 13.9 per cent.