November 29, 2000 10:03: Crime in the borough has remained static according to new statistics released by Surrey Police.

The figures covering April to September this year show virtually no change when compared to the same period last year.

In Elmbridge all recorded crime totalled 3,446 from April to September compared with 3,448 cases last year - a drop of less than 0.06 per cent.

In contrast the statistics show that crime in Surrey as a whole has fallen by an average of three per cent across most categories.

Sergeant Laurence Milligan from the safer communities team said there were some encouraging signs emerging in Elmbridge.

He said the trend for violent crime ranging from harassment to the more serious assaults is coming down.

And the bane of many residents in the borough, car crime - including thefts - is also on a downward trend according to Sgt Milligan.

But the number of burglaries, particularly in the half of the borough formerly covered by the Metropolitan Police, has increased.

Sgt Milligan said this may be explained by differences in the way Surrey Police and the Metropolitan Police collect statistics.

He added: We are pleased with the way things are going and generally the long term trends is downwards.

But we have to be careful because we are comparing this years data with last years data some of which was collected by the Metropolitan Police.