THE number of crimes in Craven has gone up 14 per cent on last year but officers are now detecting one in every three offences.

Crime figures from April 1 to the end of December 2001 show that detection rates are among of the highest in the county - up five per cent on the same period last year.

The detection rate for domestic burglaries has more than doubled from eight per cent between April and December 2000 to 16.8 per cent in the same period in 2001.

Developments in forensic science and a pro-active police operation launched in August has helped catch burglars.

But the number of burglaries has increased from 99 to 137. Inspector Tad Nowakowski said he was concerned that a high proportion of these burglaries were committed in insecure premises. He urged everyone to ensure their doors and windows were locked.

Violent crimes have gone up from 228 to 310. This category includes everything from murder and assault to more minor public order offences.

Insp Nowakowski said the rise could be attributed to CCTV, which was highlighting more offences, and pro-active operations to target public order offences. The detection rate for these offences is 85 per cent.

The number of sexual offences committed between April and December 2001 was four. This is a drop of eight on the same period in 2000.

The detection rate for thefts has gone up by four per cent. There were 574 thefts during the April to December period in 2000 and 653 in 2001 - an increase of 13 per cent.

Insp Nowakowski said in realistic terms the number of crimes had gone up from on average seven-and-a-half to eight-and-a- half a day and that these levels were relatively low.

He said this included everything from a broken wing mirror to a violent assault.

"I am still not happy with the figures but it is important to interpret them and put them into perspective," he said.

Insp Nowakowski said that the station had been back up to full strength in terms of the number of officers this year, and that two pro-active units had been set up.

"Crime will go up while we have more officers working and while the units are in operation because they are detecting more crime and arresting more people," he said.

Between April and December 2000 837 people were arrested and taken into custody, and during the same period in 2000, 1,000 were arrested.

Inspector Nowakowski said that nationally crime counting methods had also been altered so that minor crimes which in the past had not been recorded were now counted and included in crime figures.