Crime figures for West Yorkshire put the county sixth nationwide in the level of crimes per person despite an overall fall in incidents.

The total number of crimes in the county fell by half a per cent to 258,908 between last April and this March - a drop of almost 19 per cent since April 1995.

But a figure of more than 12 crimes per hundred people is the sixth worst in the country - though below the average for metropolitan police areas.

The biggest rise in Bradford was in violence against people, up almost five per cent to 4,703, but thefts from motor vehicles fell more than nine per cent to 8,186.

Councillor Clive Richardson (Con, Thornton), a member of the West Yorkshire Police Authority, said: "What these figures show is a need for more officers because people feel safe when they see police in uniform.

"CCTV will help with violent crime but at the end of the day we need more bodies on the beat.

"I don't think we will be up to 1997 staffing figures in West Yorkshire until 2003 at the earliest. In the last 12 months we have taken on 240 new officers, but 230 experienced officers have reached retirement age."

Violent crime in Bradford rose by 4.8 per cent compared to the previous year, sexual offences fell by 8.7 per cent, robbery rose by one per cent, house break-ins by 1.1 per cent, vehicle theft fell by 8.3 per cent and thefts from vehicles by 0.3 per cent.

The crime detection rate for West Yorkshire fell from 25 to 23 per cent, just below the Yorkshire and Humber average of 24 per cent.

Greg Dyche, Home Office crime reduction officer for the region, said: "There are no quick wins on crime, it is a long term investment.

"We have had real success with burglary and car crime but this was hard-earned. One continued area of concern is the continued increase in robbery, which rose by 19.2 per cent."

West Yorkshire Assistant Chief Constable Steve Smith said: "Violent crime makes up a small proportion of overall crime, but is the area which causes most concern among the public.

"People will be pleased to see that the figure has fallen and that 71 per cent of such offences were detected.

"Robbery increased 22.4 per cent during the year, which is of concern, however much is being done to tackle robbery, identified as a particular problem in metropolitan areas.

"The Target initiative is making significant inroads into crime too, though having been launched in April this year, its effects will not be reflected in these figures.

"Initiatives are already in place to address the areas of concern and paying dividends."