Christmas crime cracked down by 14%

Communities across the county enjoyed a low-crime Christmas thanks to the determined efforts of North Yorkshire Police and its partners.

High-visibility police patrols were stepped on the run up to and during the festive period to deter criminal activity and disorder. This was backed up by effective work alongside our local authority partners and the dedicated Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships.

This all-out effort resulted in a 14% drop in total crime for December 2009 compared to the same period in 2008.

In real terms this equates to 529 less victims of crime this Christmas, with 3,310 incidents recorded in December 2009 as opposed to 3,839 in December 2008.

The results included:

Auto crime reduced by 44% (from 466 to 261 crimes)

Domestic burglary reduced by 12% (from 210 to 185 crimes)

Non-domestic burglary down by 20% (from 332 to 267 crimes).

Criminal damage down by 26% (from 833 to 614 crimes)

Theft down by 3% (from 944 to 913 crimes)

Violent crime down by 1% (from 768 to 761 crimes)

Robbery down by 70% (from 10 to 3 crimes)

Personal robbery down by 20% (from 20 to 16 crimes)

Drug offences down by 19% (from 182 to 155 crimes)

Chief Constable Grahame Maxwell, said: "These excellent results show what can be achieved when we work together with our partners across the county. The strong links with our local Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships enhance our capabilities enabling us to focus on the things that matter most to our local communities.

"North Yorkshire remains one of the safest places in the country to live and work, but we are not complacent and our commitment to reducing crime across the county remains as strong as ever. We look forward to the challenges this year will bring and the opportunities to build on the successful partnerships already in place.

"Much of the activity over December has been supported by the Operation Drystone team and many of these operations are continuing as we speak. Our message to criminals is a simple one, we are proud of our reputation as one of the safest counties and we will do everything in our power to keep it that way. Consider the county as a no-go area if you have crime on your mind."


Jane Kenyon, Chairman of the Police Authority added: "These results reflect the continuing trend of reducing crime for residents and visitors alike in the North Yorkshire and York areas, particularly over the festive period. The efforts during the last few weeks of North Yorkshire Police both solely and in partnership must not go unnoticed and the significant reduction of 529 victims is a great achievement. I look forward to hearing from the Chief Constable at the next Performance and Scrutiny Board meeting in February and anticipate that the excellent performance highlighted will continue throughout 2010."

Safer Neighbourhood Teams and community safety partnerships across the county carried out a number of initiatives in the run up to Christmas. From increased high-visibility patrols to operations targeting retail crime and anti-social behaviour. Operation Drystone assisted teams across the county with several of these initiatives:


Operation Advent in Harrogate was a four-week campaign in the run-up to Christmas which saw the mobile police office based in town, offering crime prevention advice and a friendly ear to shoppers, visitors and residents.

Scarborough Police and Scarborough Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership ran Operation Jubilation which saw them teaming up with Scarborough Anti-theft Group and Scarborough CCTV to target retail crime and anti-social behaviour. Drugs were also targeted at local nightspots with the assistance of specialist drugs detection dog Charlie, and his handler from British Transport Police.

Police in Scarborough also reported a virtually incident-free Ladies' Day on Boxing Day, as an operation designed to keep disturbance to a minimum ensured everyone enjoyed the party atmosphere.

Safer York Partnership continued their successful ALTN8 campaign encouraging sensible drinking and safety during nights out in the city. Drug dealers also received a wake-up call as Operation Gatecrasher swooped on people suspected of drug offences.

Operations targeting bag and purse thefts kept pickpockets at bay in Skipton, Ripon, Stokesley and Great Ayton. While travelling criminals were targeted in the Ryedale district to ensure crooks from out of the district didn't get the chance to cash in on the area's rich pickings.

An operation on the Cleveland and West Yorkshire borders also helped contribute to the security of our communities with roads policing teams and the Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) team deployed on a number of evenings, targeting vehicles travelling into the county which were linked to criminal activity.