The figures have been released by the Safe and Stronger Partnership Board, which is made up of the county’s police, its councils, the Probation Trust, and Youth Justice Service.

Warwickshire deputy chief constable Neil Brunton put the successful results down to working together.  He said: “We are seeing good results but we will not get complacent.

“We know that there are challenging times ahead but our aim is to reduce crime and ensure there are less victims.”

The best results were in Rugby, where crime was down 16 per cent, and the worst were in Nuneaton, where it fell seven per cent. In the Warwick district, all crime was down 14 per cent.

Re-offending rates are down too, and Andy Wade, of Warwickshire Probation Trust, said: “The proportion of offenders who re-offend is down from 34.4 per cent in 2005 to 28 per cent in 2011 which is the latest available data, and shows Warwickshire is among the best performing areas in England and Wales.”

Crimes committed by young people were down by 29 per cent in the same period, and over the three months reviewed only three youngsters under 18 were sentenced to custody.

Lesley Tregear, of Warwickshire Youth Justice Service said: “I am proud of these figures which are better than both the West Midlands and national averages. Many of the young people who commit crime need support to deal with the complex issues in their lives. Our service helps them to tackle these issues to keep them out of the criminal justice system, preventing them from committing offences and keeping communities safe.”

Operation X
Last week, Warwickshire Police arrested 28 people and seized 115 vehicles in an intense, three-day operation to keep Warwickshire’s roads free from criminal activity.

One hundred police officers and staff were dedicated to “proactively target” criminals on the roads between Monday and Wednesday 6th March in Operation X.

Arrests were made for drug possession, suspected burglaries, dangerous driving, and going equipped to steal.  In total, 107 cars were stopped for no insurance, four for no tax, and four that were suspected of being used in crime.

Chief Insp Adrian Knight, who was leading the operation, said he was delighted with the success of the operation and the impact it would have on reducing crime.

“I was extremely impressed by the flexible approach the teams took during the operation. Members of the public were noticing the large amount of police activity that was going on and we were getting some very positive feedback. To criminals the message is loud and clear—we will do all we can to stop you from carrying out crime in our county.”