CRIME in North Yorkshire has risen for the first time in seven years, new figures have shown, on the day a multi-agency crime reduction operation was launched in Selby.

The final rundown of North Yorkshire Police’s performance showed that a sharp increase in offending in the last three months of 2010/11 led to levels of crime across the region climbing by 0.5 per cent during the year.

Between January and March 2011, 1,200 more crimes were recorded than during the same period in 2009/10, leading to a turnaround in the force’s figures after a nine-month drop.

It meant crime rose by 201 offences during 2010/11, the first increase North Yorkshire Police has seen since 2003/04.

The force, currently making millions of pounds of savings due to Government spending cuts, has described the rise as “ultimately a disappointing position”.

Burglary, criminal damage, drug crime and thefts accounted for the majority of the increase during the final quarter of last year, but metal thefts have also increased.

Before January, the force had seen 800 fewer crimes than the year before, with a “substantial reduction” in December, although theft went up by 848 offences from the previous year’s figures, a rise of 232 more drugs offences was recorded last year and Selby had a 55 per cent rise in drug offences – although police said this was down to the targeting of organised crime.

Yesterday, representatives from North Yorkshire Police and the fire service joined the Environment Agency at the first day of summer-long Operation Birch, to reduce criminal activity in the region.

Sergeant Lesley Holliday said: “Throughout the summer we will be holding a series of action days with British Transport Police, the Environment Agency, HMRC and VOSA, because our aims are linked.

“We have a lot of metal thefts and know that some people go round collecting scrap without the legal requirements or business insurance. From today, our officers will be stopping vehicles to check these details.”

Representatives from the agencies were situated at the Saint Gobain glass factory, at Eggborough, and inspected 25 vehicles to check they were road legal and had the correct permits for their loads, and to ensure they were using legal fuel.

Elsewhere in the region, automatic number plate recognition teams were placed along busy roads, to look out for vehicles with outstanding offences logged against them.

Officers made one arrest, detained two people for a drug search, issued a fixed penalty notice to a motorist, and spoke to 15 youths suspected of truancy in Selby town centre, all of whom had an excuse not to be at school.

Officers from HMRC also investigate 15 vehicles, one of which was seized and returned to the owner after payment of a fine.