WILTSHIRE shares in the national fall in crime figures which the Home Office has used to claim that the risk of being a victim of crime in Britain is the lowest since the British Crime Survey began in 1981.

Quarterly figures published by the Home Office last Thursday and covering a period up to the end of June showed a continued fall in the numbers of vehicle thefts, burglaries and robberies being reported.

The British Crime Survey shows that violent crime fell by six per cent and violence involving injury dropped by 12 per cent.

However, police nationally recorded an 11 per cent increase in violent crime, although the Home Office says much of that is due to increased reporting of the recording of low-level "thuggery",which increased by 14 per cent.

Wiltshire Constabulary does not monitor the same reporting periods as the British Crime Survey and Recorded Crime Figures.

Nevertheless, the county force was happy to publish the most recent year-to-date figures from April to September, which bear comparison to those issued by the Home Office.

So far this year, recorded crime in Wiltshire has dropped by six per cent when compared to the same period last year. In real terms, this means that, during the current financial year, there have been 1,332 fewer victims of crime in Wiltshire than at the same point last year.

The drop of almost six per cent in recorded offences of violent crime equates to 216 fewer victims of this type of crime.

Vehicle crime has reduced by almost 2.5 per cent on the previous year with 64 fewer victims.

A drop of ten per cent in the total number of domestic burglaries equates to 137 fewer victims.

The British Crime Survey published earlier this year highlighted the low level of concern about crime in Wiltshire.

Within the county, eight per cent of those surveyed were concerned about about burglary and 11 per cent were worried about car crime, violent crime and perceived anti-social behaviour.

Wiltshire Constabulary says this is low in comparison to regional and national figures.

Figures show a 72 per cent decrease in distraction burglaries since the Beat the Bogus Caller initiative was set up in April 2002.

Wiltshire is a partner member of the South West regional initiative, known as Operation Litotes, which was set up to combat this type of burglary in which one person distracts a householder while another carries out a theft.

The crime is predominantly carried out by travelling criminals against elderly people living alone.

Police say that the effects on victims can be particularly devastating, not only through the loss of savings and valuables, but also because their health may deteriorate as a result of trauma.

A police spokesman said: "Continued vigilance to this type of crime will help to keep crime volumes down and neighbours can help by noting any suspicious incidents which appear to involve vulnerable and elderly people and reporting this to the police."

Cold calling, arriving unannounced at a resident's door in order to interest them in buying a product, has been linked to distraction burglary and over-charging offences.

Cold calling remains a problem and the Trading Standards Institute has called for a complete ban to halt the rising tide of tricksters who swindle senior citizens out of millions of pounds every year nationally.

Wiltshire, being a rural county, has a large proportion of legally held firearms which are used appropriately for their licensed purpose.

But there is a small but not insignificant number of firearms incidents every year, most of which involve the inappropriate use of ball-bearing (BB) guns, air weapons and imitation firearms.

The spokesman said: "Although such items do not need a licence, owners need to be aware that inappropriate use of these in a public place can lead to arrest."

Chief Superintendent Julian Kirby said: "I am very pleased to report that crime in Wiltshire is down overall bysix per cent compared to the same period last year, but we cannot be complacent.

"Wiltshire Constabulary will work closely with the Government to build on and develop the excellent crime reduction and detection work that isparamount to keeping Wiltshire safe, while maintaining a good standardof policing service to the people of Wiltshire."