THE latest crime figures released by Hampshire Constabulary have shown that crime in the county has dropped slightly compared with last year.

Crime figures in the Alton area itself have also seen a general improvement on the previous period. The clean-up rate for Alton over the last five quarter period has been 27 per cent, two per cent down on Hampshire's average, but still three per cent up on the national figure.

Assaults of all types have seen a rise of 20 per cent, with 158 occurring in total over the last five quarters. It has however been noticed that the nature of most of the assaults have been of the less serious types, and few serious incidents have occurred.

There has also been a 25 per cent rise in criminal damage offences, with 313 reported cases.

House burglaries are also on the up. A 17 per cent rise takes the figure to 96 for the period. However, burglaries at non-dwellings have dropped by 23 per cent, with 203 cases being reported.

A massive drop has been recorded in robbery, meaning theft with a degree of violence or violent behaviour. With Just three cases in the five quarter period there has been a 100 per cent drop.

There has been a 32 per cent fall in numbers of other thefts with 482 reported cases, and vehicle crime has fallen by 13 percent to 171 cases.

Drugs offences are down by 45 per cent with 98 cases, and crime and disorder offences have fallen by 90 per cent with 279 cases.

Steve Mote, police Inspector at Alton, said: "It is important not to devalue crimes, as every crime has a victim and for that person, one crime is too many. However, it is still good to know that we in Alton are lucky to suffer a low crime rate.

"The Alton area accounts for roughly 1.1 per cent of Hampshire's crime figures which, when you consider the size of the area covered, is fairly impressive.

"Although figures for most types of crime are down, we have seen rises in a few areas, which we will make it a priority to address.

"We are looking into the numbers of assaults and criminal damage offences, in terms of when and where most of them are happening, and by looking at this, we should be able to determine a strategy for policing these places at the appropriate times in an attempt to cut numbers.

"In terms of burglaries, we need to help people to help themselves. People are still leaving belongings unattended and are surprised when they are not there upon their return. The fact that we live in a low crime area doesn't mean that crime does not take place.

"With the categories of crime that have fallen, we are proud of this performance, but it does not end there. For instance, there has been a huge reduction in drug offences, but we still have big plans to limit use and supply, and this on-going effort applies to all crimes."