Police and Council chiefs in the district have insisted that tackling violent crime is a priority, after Bradford was branded the least peaceful place in West Yorkshire.

Bradford was ranked a lowly 18th out of 21 in a list of the most peaceful local authorities in Yorkshire and the Humber – ahead of only Hull, North East Lincolnshire and Doncaster.

Nationally, the district was ranked 255th out of 343.

The findings were published yesterday in the UK Peace Index, produced by the Institute for Economics and Peace, which defines peace as the absence of violence or fear of violence.

The study, which compared findings from ten years earlier, found that the UK has seen a “substantial and sustained” fall in violent crime over the last decade. The murder rate has halved and violent crime has plunged, from 1,255 per 100,000 people to 933.

Yorkshire and Humber was the sixth most peaceful region in the UK, with Craven top of the rankings for the region, and seventh nationally.

The rankings are assessed by the rates per 100,000 of the population of homicides, violent crimes, weapons crimes, public disorder offences and numbers of police officers.

Bradford had a higher rate of homicides than the average, but less public disorder.

West Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner Mark Burns-Williamson said: “At a police service area level West Yorkshire ranks in the top half of the peacefulness index, which reflects the huge strives made by police and wider partners in tackling violent crime, but the difference in how we are doing in Bradford compared to other districts needs to be tackled.

“I am committed to make people safer and feel safer in every community in West Yorkshire, and the Police and Crime Plan I have recently published sets out the commitment to specifically address violent crime.”

Bradford Council deputy leader Imran Hussain, who is executive member for safer communities, said: “Serious crimes, like homicide, continue to be a priority for the district. While I don’t think Bradford is worse off than other comparable districts, we need to continue to tackle it and we will do so.”

Coun Hussain said it was a complex report which he would need to look at in detail.

A Bradford police spokesman said: “The number of offences we have experienced across the Bradford district has continued to fall year on year.

“Since 2009, there has been a ten per cent reduction in overall crime with 4,346 fewer victims.

“Between April 2012, and March 2013, crimes involving serious violence have also dropped by 40 per cent compared to the same period the previous year.

“Although we are not complacent about the challenges ahead, we are certainly taking some big strides and moving in the right direction.”