Crime is continuing to fall in West Yorkshire, with 10,000 fewer victims in the county, according to latest figures.

The force says it is likely to hit police authority targets for the year, but has vowed to keep the pressure on criminals.

There was an eight per cent reduction in crime during the first six months of the current year, from April to September 2007, and the trend continued to the end of December.

Priority crimes, like burglary, vehicle crime and violence, all fell.

The increased use of Neighbourhood Policing Teams aims to maintain the improvements, as well as increase public confidence.

Deputy Chief Constable Julia Hodson said the general picture was good, but a recent increase in house burglaries was concerning.

She said: "We are doing our part to tackle burglary, targeting known offenders and making life as difficult as possible for them. We rely on the public to take steps to ensure they are not targets, by keeping their homes secure and reporting suspicious activity to the police."

Mrs Hodson said the use of Capture Cars had helped reduce vehicle crime across all districts, including Bradford.

But she said the force still needed to raise local confidence in the police. "We are committed to a Neighbourhood Policing style which boosts the feeling of well being in local communities and makes them safer and better places to live. NPTs are here to stay and are already making a difference."

The Deputy Chief Constable said there was some improvement in quality of service to the public but a number of initiatives were in place to build on that, particularly with regard to keeping people informed.

The latest quarterly crime figures for England and Wales, for July to September last year, show the number of crimes recorded by police fell by nine per cent.

Violence against the person was down by eight per cent and robberies fell by 17 per cent. Drug offences were up by 21 per cent, coinciding with police powers to issue warnings for cannabis offences.