WEST Surrey Police are blaming new crime recording methods for a per 15.1 per cent increase in crime, but it is still one of the safest areas in the safest county in the country.

In West Surrey, which covers Waverley and Guildford, the number of crimes rose from 4,417 to 5,111 between April 2002 and March this year. Violent crime increased by 25.7 per cent, from 1,451 to 1,824. There was also a 20.5 per cent increase in the number of houses burgled, from 737 to 888.

There was only a 0.5 per cent increase in the number of cars stolen, from 760 to 764, though thefts from cars increased by 15.3 per cent, from 1,205 to 1,389.

West Surrey Police say the 15.1 per cent increase in overall crime is "in line with the national increase due to changes in crime recording practices". But the national increase is only six per cent. Across Surrey as a whole, crime went up 11 per cent.

But the divisional force says figures for the first three months of this year are already showing a marked improvement. Burglary is down 16 per cent, car crime 19 per cent, and detection figures are also up.

Despite last year's increases, West Surrey still compares very favourably with other similar divisions across the country, ranking in the safest group for its crime rates in violence, robbery, dwelling burglary and theft from a vehicle, and in the second safest group for the remaining categories.

Figures for April 2002 to March 2003 also show that robbery fell by 15 per cent, from 107 robberies to 91.

The police recorded crime figures are complicated by the introduction of the National Crime Recording Standard in April 2002, which lowers the threshold at which a crime report is accepted and thereby increases the number of offences recorded by the police.

West Surrey police also say the availability of crack cocaine could be to blame for some increases. Research carried out last year which showed that addicts using a combination of heroin and crack cocaine need £589 a week to fund their habit, highlighted the link between drugs and crime in West Surrey.

West Surrey Superintendent Kevin Deanus said: "An addict desperate for their next fix will have no qualms about breaking into a house or stealing a handbag from a car to make some money. The increase in the use of drugs such as crack cocaine last year impacted on our crime figures."

Supt Deanus added: "We are now concentrating all our efforts in achieving further reductions in our crime figures across all areas, as well as building on our success so far with our continuously increasing detection rates."