FIGURES released by North Yorkshire Police show reported car crime in York has been cut by almost half in the last year.

A total of 1,145 car crimes, including thefts and break-ins, were reported in York between April 2009 and last month.

This represents a drop of 47.7 per cent on the 2,290 reported between April 2008 and April 2009.

Chief Inspector Dave Hannan, of North Yorkshire Police, said the reduction was due in part to the vigilance of communities.

Chief Insp Hannan said: “The reduction in car crime is down to good partnership work between the police, the Safer York Partnership and the community.

“Safer Neighbourhood policing also plays a huge part as the integration of officers and PCSOs into the community helps with crime prevention and identifying offenders. This enables us to make early arrests and helps to prevent further crimes in the future.

“I would like to thank the communities of York whose vigilance has led to the arrest of many suspects for vehicle crimes. Residents are also listening to our advice about not leaving valuables on display in their vehicles which is a major factor for the drop in vehicle crime.”

Figures released by the Association of Police Officers’ Vehicle Crime Intelligence Service (AVCIS), showed 147,000 cars were stolen across the UK last year, placing us second on the European league of car crime hotspots, behind Italy.

Detective Chief Inspector Mark Hooper, head of AVCIS, said in general, car crime was decreasing across the UK.

DCI Hooper said: “Car crime is decreasing and although the UK features in the top three countries worst hit in Europe, we are currently experiencing the lowest levels of vehicle crime rates for many years.

“For example there were a total of 147,000 vehicles stolen in 2009 compared to approximately 600,000 in 1993.”