IS YORK the safest it has ever been?

A new report has revealed residents' concerns about crime and safety are now the lowest since figures were first recorded almost ten years ago.

York people are now said to be less concerned about street robberies, being physically assaulted or whether their cars will be attacked.

The report, compiled by council officers, also shows more people are willing to report crimes and take part in local ward committee decisions.

In some cases the statistics, which compare 2005/06 with 2004/05, saw concern among residents' fall by as much as 50 per cent.

Council officers were stumped to provide an "adequate explanation" for these trends, but said it would appear all the factors encouraged "a general perception that York is safer".

They concluded increased police presence, and awareness of high-profile projects such as Smartwater (a chemical used to trace stolen goods and those who have handled them), could have helped.

A council spokeswoman said the statistics were included in a report on Best Value Performance Indicators, and were gathered as part of the authority's Talk About panel. A survey was sent to 2,000 residents with 75 per cent responding.

Council leader Steve Galloway today hailed the figures, and pledged more would be done to help make a difference.

The survey reveals that 14 per cent of people are concerned about being sexually assaulted, compared with 31 per cent a year ago.

More than 75 per cent said they were willing to report crime and antisocial behaviour, compared with 57 per cent previously, while 17 per cent were concerned about being attacked a fall from 34 per cent.

Overall, half of people felt York was a safe place to live a three per cent rise on 2004/05.

The report, which will be discussed at a city strategy meeting later this month, said: "The level of concern expressed by residents fell for each indicator, some by as much as 50 per cent when compared with 2004/05, with a number of these demonstrating the highest performances since they were first measured in 1997."

Coun Galloway said: "We were pleased last year to see a reduction in the number of offences committed in the city, and that success now seems to have influenced residents' perceptions of how safe their local community is.

"The Neighbourhood Policing initiative, which is rolling out to the whole city, will provide a further opportunity to reduce street level crime such as antisocial behaviour, speeding and vandalism.

"We are moving in the right direction, and I am grateful to those residents, especially the neighbourhood watch groups, who continue to monitor their communities and provide the authorities with vital information about crime."

Carole Patrick, of Safer York Partnership, said: "There has been a lot of activity in the crime and disorder arena but neighbourhoods and residents are more familiar with what's going on. The council, Safer York Partnership, North Yorkshire Police and various other services are engaging in an awful lot of cross working, and a 50 per cent drop is absolutely brilliant."