CRIME in Essex has fallen by 3.9% in the last year with fewer violent offences, house burglaries and reports of vandalism.Essex Police has also increased the number of crimes it solves compared to the same time last year - but incidents of anti-social behaviour have soared.

By Annie Davidson

CRIME in Essex has fallen by 3.9% in the last year with fewer violent offences, house burglaries and reports of vandalism.

Essex Police has also increased the number of crimes it solves compared to the same time last year - but incidents of anti-social behaviour have soared.

The figures are revealed in Chief Constable Roger Baker's annual report for the last financial year and will be discussed at a police authority meeting next month.

In the period there were 127,163 crimes recorded in the county compared to 132,378 in the previous year - a drop of 5,215 (3.9%).

Detection rates for vehicle, violent and racially aggravated crime, robbery and criminal damage all increased too.

But the number of reports of anti-social behaviour climbed 40% - rising from 77,800 to 109,164, which works out at nearly 300 a day.

However, Mr Baker said in his report that many people were happy with the police service in the county.

“Another key area of success for the force is the increasing percentage of people who are satisfied with the service they receive from Essex Police.

“From April 2006 to March 2007, over 80% of the victims of crime and people involved in road traffic collisions that were surveyed were satisfied with the overall service offered by officers and staff.

“This level of satisfaction is higher than the same period in 2005/06 and places the force in the top three of our most similar forces.”

When compared against eight other forces of a similar nature - including Kent, Herts and Derbyshire - Essex Police had the lowest overall level of recorded crime.

The number of violent crimes fell from 26,450 to 25,571, while there was a sharp drop in vehicle crime from 19,679 offences in 2005/06 to 18,029 in the last 12 months.

Mr Baker added: “While we are already performing well in our MSF (most similar forces), Essex Police are committed to being the best performing force in the country.

“To drive this improved performance, the police authority and the force has set challenging targets for 2007/08 which will help make Essex even safer.”