POLICE in Trowbridge and Westbury say the towns are still among the safest in the country despite statistics revealing violent crime has increased by more than a third.

Top officers in the two towns say changes in the way crimes are recorded have led to some of the crime rise, and it does not mean west Wiltshire is a more dangerous place to live.

Figures for Trowbridge and the surrounding parishes show there were 3,030 crimes for the year up to the end of March, approximately 58 per week, a rise of three per cent on 2001/2002.

The increase for the whole of the Chippenham division, which includes north and west Wiltshire, was 12 per cent.

The worst hit area was Westbury where overall crime rose by 33 per cent.

Violent crime in Westbury rose 44 per cent while in Trowbridge there was an increase of 34 per cent with 426 crimes reported, ranging from public order offences and minor assaults to more serious attacks.

The figures exclude domestic violence.

Inspector Jon Tapper, of Trowbridge police, said: "This year there was some good news and some bad news.

"This still means we are one of the safest areas in the country and Trowbridge is a safe place to live."

He said one of the most disappointing figures was in house burglaries with 217 crimes reported, an increase of 53 per cent.

Insp Tapper said: "Dwelling burglaries are one of the most heart rending crimes an individual will have to endure. I don't consider this acceptable by any means, but the good news is we have detected more.

"The government figure for detection is set at 18 per cent and we came in at 22 per cent.

"There are initiatives we have taken on to deal with this, particularly to target and identify offenders."

Vehicle crime, which has been targeted by officers, increased by just four per cent with 437 crimes reported.

Overall crime in Westbury rose 33.5 per cent on last year, with the number of crimes reported shooting up from 797 in 2002, to 1,064 in 2003.

Westbury Sergeant Jim Stannard said: "It is the criteria for recording crime that has produced this increase, and we were expecting it.

"It is one of the highest in the division, but in a way I am not worried about it because the new government standard is what has given rise to these figures."

Previously, if officers recorded a sequence of connected crimes they would be recorded as one crime, but with new government regulations each individual offence is detailed.

For example, if six cars were broken into in one street, it would now be recorded as six separate incidents, as opposed to one.

Sgt Stannard repeated his need for more officers to police the area.

He said: "You cannot help feeling that some of the paperwork we have to deal with is almost perverse, and we find ourselves constantly drawing on resources in Warminster."