CRIME figures reveal that North Yorkshire remains one of the safest places in the country.

The latest crime figures released by the Office of National Statistics (ONS) show a continued reduction in crime in North Yorkshire.

There were 34,462 crimes reported in North Yorkshire in 2013/14, which is a reduction of 0.1 per cent from last year and significantly down from the 47,940 offences recorded in 2009.

The number of sexual offences reported increased by 14 per cent, with 84 more victims coming forward than in the previous year. The rise has been attributed to the greater confidence victims have in reporting incidents of this nature to the police and the new Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC), which provides support to victims of sexual crime. There was also an 11 per cent increase in public order offences.

Anti-social behaviour was down eight per cent, with 2,803 fewer incidents than last year and vehicle crime down by nine per cent, amounting to 256 less victims than last year.

Chief Constable Dave Jones, of North Yorkshire Police, said the figures placed North Yorkshire Police the second best performing force in England, but warned there were challenging times ahead.

"These are encouraging statistics which mean that the people of North Yorkshire can have confidence in their police service, but we are far from complacent. There are some challenging issues to deal with in parts of our county, and we are forging close links with other local agencies to tackle these," he said.

“The Office of National Statistics figures are based on reported crime, and we know that some crimes - particularly sexual or domestic abuse and hate crime - does not always get reported. That is starting to change, but we still have more to do to give victims the confidence to come forward.”