CRIME is down in Gloucestershire for the eighth year in a row.

Figures released today show that crime fell in the county by four per cent – or 1,442 crimes - between April 1 2011 and March 31 2012.

The biggest reduction was seen in the theft of motor vehicle category, which reduced by 32 per cent.

There were also reductions in robbery and non domestic burglary, which were both down by 19 per cent.

Violence against the person and criminal damage were also down by nine per cent.

Assistant Chief Constable Sally Crook, Chairman of the Gloucestershire Stronger Safer Justice Commission, said the reductions were the result of hard work by many people across the county.

He said: “These figures are testament to the work being carried out by many agencies and individuals across Gloucestershire, as well as communities throughout the county.

“This continued reduction in crime is even more remarkable given the economic measures all public services are grappling with and the inevitable reductions in resources.

“These are not just statistics. These figures mean there were 1,442 less crimes in the county between 2011 and 2012, and that translates into at least 1,442 fewer victims.

“However, one crime is one too many and we must not forget there were still thousands of crime victims in Gloucestershire during the 12 month period.

“Working together we will aim to build on these figures to continue making the county safer in the coming year.”

Assistant Chief Constable Richard Berry, of Gloucestershire Constabulary, added: “We are proud of these latest figures. It’s no secret that the force has had one of its most challenging periods for many years, with the loss of officers, police stations and staff.

“We are looking to continually improve our investigative and administrative procedures in the coming year in order to build upon these results."

The full crime figures for the county are shown here: Crime Category Crime 2011/12 Crime 2010/11 Percentage Change Violence Against the Person 5725 6276 -8.8% Sexual Offences 516 531 -2.8% Robbery 252 310 -18.7% Domestic Burglary 3017 2644 14.1% Non-Domestic Burglary 2726 3346 -18.5% Theft Of Motor Vehicles 617 911 -32.3% Theft From Motor Vehicles 3128 2800 11.7% Other Theft and Handling 9808 9756 0.5% Fraud and Forgery 972 1014 -4.1% Criminal Damage 5855 6409 -8.6% Drugs Offences 1526 1493 2.2% Other Offences 460 554 -17.0% TOTAL CRIME 34602 36044 -4.0% Overall crime has fallen in every category, other than domestic burglary, theft from motor vehicles, theft and handling and drugs offences.

An increase in drugs offences is always expected, due to the fact that drugs offences are almost always detected as a direct result of police investigations. This means any increase indicates improved police investigative techniques.

Domestic burglary and theft from motor vehicle have been, and continue to be, the focus of much police attention. For example, as a result of specific operations and work by Local Policing Teams, we made 512 arrests for domestic burglary and 218 for theft of and from motor vehicles during the year.

Broken down by Local Policing Area, the crime figures are as follows: Area 2011/12 2010/11 Percentage change Cheltenham 9600 10186 -5.8% Gloucester 10993 10888 1% Stroud 4684 5051 -7.3% Tewkesbury 3114 3244 -4% Forest 2846 2992 -4.9% Cotswolds 3363 3676 -8.5%