POLICE in East Hampshire are winning the war against house burglars and car thieves, according to latest figures.

Between 2004 and 2005 there were 418 house burglaries in Central Hampshire, which includes Bordon, Alton, Petersfield and Liphook, compared to 533 the previous year. And during the same period there were 861 vehicle crimes in the policing area – nearly 300 less than the previous year's total of 1,120.

Central Hampshire's police chief superintendent, Bob Rose, believes the welcome trend is down to both the hardwork of officers and residents themselves in safeguarding their property.

Supt Rose said: "We ran several campaigns last year including, 'Safer Homes' which is directly linked to burglaries and 'Safer Vehicles' which is directly linked to vehicle crime. These were both proactive campaigns, not just in trying to catch the criminals but also in educating the public about looking after their homes and being a bit more security conscious.

"There was also a concentrated effort on intelligence-related policing and this has led to a reduction in vehicle crime and house burglaries right across the area which I am very pleased about."

The reduction in house burglaries and vehicle crime is something that was reflected across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight as a whole as well.

There were 5,415 house burglaries during the year which is 22.8 per cent fewer than the previous year and vehicle crime reduced by 19.5 per cent.

Despite the encouraging trend in these two areas of crime, violent crime shot up. There were more than 4,000 more instances of the crime in Central Hampshire last year – 2,494 compared to 2,091 the previous year. Police have put this down to changes in the way the crime is reported, as well as greater confidence in the system by victims of domestic violence who are now more likely to report offences than before.

But Supt Rose said this was an area that police would now be concentrating more resources on in a bid to halt the rising tide of incidents.

"We are now trying to concentrate our efforts on violent crime because there was an increase in violent crime across the area, apart from Petersfield which had a reduction. The main reason for that is because of the increased patrols down there.

"We started sector policing in April and with the introduction of this we are hoping to reduce violent crime across the area."

Meanwhile, the number of robberies was up from 46 in 2003/2004 to 55 in 2004/2005. The detection rate was up, however, from 26 per cent to 40 per cent.

The total number of crimes committed across the area fell slightly from 11,278 in 2003/ 2004 to 11,187 in 2004/2005. The detection rate crept up from 28 per cent to 31 per cent. While in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight as a whole, the total number of offences was down by 3.1 per cent to 173,072.

Police have pledged to build on this success in the coming year, as well as tackle the areas where there is still cause for concern.

Chief constable Paul Kernaghan said: "These figures show that in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight we are having a real impact on crime. When we're compared to other forces, we are top of the class in seven important categories, second in another and third in two more .

"With burglary at the lowest rate for 31 years and car crime down to 1981 levels we are reducing the numbers of people who become victims of crime in our communities every day.

"We will not become complacent though – our 'Safer Streets' campaign is designed to reduce our violent crime figures – and we know that having set this standard for ourselves we must better it year on year.

"An area of particular concern is the sustained increase in reports of sexual offences. We seek to provide a first-class service to victims but do not feel that an increased willingness to report offences explains this rise.

"Sadly alcohol is a major factor in many cases and I am convinced that more responsible alcohol consumption would play a major part in reducing the incidence of many sexual offences."

Mr Kernaghan has also asked whether tougher sentences are needed to crack down on repeat offenders in the county.

"Good policing will not, by itself, produce the safe communities we all desire. What happens to the criminals we catch and put before the courts? Do the punishments awarded, be they community or custodial, effectively rehabilitate most criminals?

"If not, I suggest that society needs to openly decide if it is prepared to accept continued offending by known criminals, or should such behaviour lead to progressively tougher and longer sentences of imprisonment?

"It is demoralising for officers and the communities they serve when some courts appear more concerned with the needs of offenders and the size of the prison estate than the need to prevent re-offending."

He added: "Many people in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight may read in their newspapers or see on their TV screens politicians claiming crime is out of control – I let the facts speak for themselves.

"The facts say that in these two counties the chances of becoming a victim of crime are very small – and getting smaller."