WILTSHIRE has reinforced its position as the safest county in England and Wales after new figures show a seven per cent drop in crime since last year.

The police authority received the new figures, covering the period from April 2004 to March 2005, at their meeting in Devizes last week.

Members were delighted to see that the overall number of crimes recorded for Wiltshire, including Swindon, had decreased from 42,953 to 40,076, a decrease of about 2,900 crimes.

When expressed as crimes per population, Wiltshire has the lowest crime rate in England and Wales and could be said to be the safest county in the country.

Levels of crime have reduced in seven out of the nine key crime categories, including burglary, violent crime and car crime. There have been small increases in drug offences, good news for the police as it means that more addicts are being sent on treatment courses.

There has also been a rise in notifiable crimes, such as adulteration of food, that come in in tiny numbers.

The overall numbers of burglaries has come down by 376 crimes, or 15 per cent, with 2,177 burglaries recorded. The current detection rate for burglaries, at 16 per cent, is an improvement when compared to the same period last year.

The overall number of vehicle crimes 4,945 is down by nine per cent with 505 fewer crimes having been recorded.