ALMOST half of the residents in York and North Yorkshire believe that their police force is performing well, according to Home Office figures released today.

British Crime Survey figures show that 49 per cent of people in the area believe that the performance of North Yorkshire Police is "good" or "excellent", one per cent above the national average.

Although crime in York and North Yorkshire remains significantly lower than its neighbouring counties, the Yorkshire and Humber region now has the second highest rate of crime in England and Wales.

Fear of becoming a victim of crime remains high in York and North Yorkshire, with 14 per cent of people having a high level of concern about violent crime and 15 per cent of people "very worried" about burglary.

North Yorkshire Police spokesman Tony Lidgate said he was pleased with the force's performance rating, but said there was much more work to be done.

He said that although fear of crime in the area was generally lower than the national average, tackling it remained a concern of senior officers.

He said: "Even though it may not be justified that people are "very worried" about burglaries it does not matter because it is part of our job to do something about people's fears.

"This is one reason why we have many more officers than ever before. They are not just actively fighting crime, but their highly-visible presence on the streets reassures the public."

Last week the Evening Press revealed that recorded crime in York and North Yorkshire rose by 15 per cent, but this was said to be largely due to change in the Home Office counting rules.

Today's figures illustrate how the North Yorkshire force compares with other Yorkshire and Humber region forces and the UK average.

They reveal that 90 in every 1,000 people in York and North Yorkshire were affected by crime in the past year, below the national average of 118 individuals.

But crime in neighbouring counties soared, with 155 in every 1,000 West Yorkshire residents affected by crime and 153 people in every 1,000 in Humberside.

Only 18 per cent of York and North Yorkshire residents felt that levels of disorder were high, compared with 28 per cent in South Yorkshire and 25 per cent in West Yorkshire.

Meanwhile, the figures produced by the Humberside force, which polices the East Riding, show violent crime rose by more than 17 per cent, but, as with the national figures, this increase was blamed on changes to the National Crime Recording Standard.

The British Crime Survey found a significantly lower proportion of the public rated police performance positively than the national average. Only 42 per cent of people rated the force as "good" or "average".

Other categories such as vehicle crime and burglaries fell and Humberside Police figures also reveal that 34 fewer people were killed or seriously injured on the area's roads last year.

Updated: 10:03 Thursday, July 17, 2003