Crime has fallen by 9.5 per cent in the police's new Eastern area - almost double the force's target figure.

And burglaries in the patch - which includes Ryedale - have dropped by almost 15 per cent.

Delighted Eastern area commander Superintendent Paul Gregory said: "The results reflect a lot of good hard work, particularly team work between regular officers, support staff and special constables."

Figures for the 11 months from April, 1999, to this February show a total of 13,640 recorded crimes, compared with 15,067 in the same period last year. This represents a 9.5 per cent fall, compared with a targeted reduction of five per cent.

The number of house burglaries fell from 1,141 to 971 - a 14.9 per cent drop, compared with a target of five per cent. But the number of burglaries detected rose by only 1.4 per cent (target five per cent).

Burglaries at non-domestic premises fell by 14.9 per cent (target five per cent), and the number of violent offences detected was 88.7 per cent (target 82 per cent).

Thefts of vehicles fell 30.3 per cent, while thefts from vehicles fell 16 per cent. The targeted falls for both were five per cent.

Figures for police response times showed 91.8 per cent of call-outs were attended within 15 minutes, and 95.9 per cent within 20 minutes.

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