The new study which pinpoints Bradford as one of the “least peaceful” areas in the region makes for, on the face of it, somewhat depressing and unwelcome news.

The report defines “peaceful” as having an absence of violence or the fear of violence, and number-crunches statistics on murder, manslaughter, robbery and other violent crimes, as well as numbers of police officers.

And it is true that on any given day in the pages of the Telegraph & Argus you might find a report or two about a violent incident or a court case in which violence has played a great part.

But in the words of a popular TV crime show: Don’t have nightmares. Although it is undeniable that we live in a world that can often be seen as harsh and violent, the majority of us will never have any direct experience of such things.

It is purely because they are so shocking and newsworthy that they make the headlines – if they were completely commonplace they would barely trouble the front pages.

That is not to say we or the authorities should be complacent about violence and anti-social behaviour.

Violent crime is and should be a top priority for the police, and there has been a steady and welcome drop in the number of such incidents over the past four years.

It might well be overly optimistic to foresee a time when violent crime is reduced to nil, but with hard work from the authorities and vigilance and support from the public, it may well continue to move in the right direction – downwards.