Police report major crime drop this year

Chief Constable Alf Hitchcok said this plummetting crime follows a highly successful 12 months for the force.

The biggest reduction was in crimes of most serious violence, which fell by 29 per cent in the period of April 1 - July 31 2012, compared to the same period in 2011.

Vehicle crime was reduced by 21.1 per cent for the same period, and domestic burglary and robbery were also reduced, by 7.2 per cent and 7.0 per cent respectively.

Chief Constable Alf Hitchcock said: “I’m delighted that crime has continued to fall but this isn’t really about numbers and statistics, it’s about Bedfordshire residents not coming home to find they have been burgled or the windows of their car smashed.

“All our staff have worked hard, along with the other agencies that we work alongside, to achieve this. I’m particularly pleased considering we’ve had some big challenges to face in the last 12 months, and will continue to face them as we strive to improve even more in the next six months.”

The force has also focused heavily on anti-social behaviour, which was reduced by 9.3 per cent in the April - July period.

A new pilot is currently taking place in Luton which is aimed at delivering further positive results and improving the experience of members of the public reporting these offences.

There have been some changes made to the way the force investigates crime, including using a system to monitor the most prolific offenders and work with local agencies to reduce re-offending rates.

The way the control room operates has also been changed, including the introduction of a new non-emergency appointment system.