A QUARTER of boys in England and Wales aged 14 to 17 are prolific or serious offenders, Government research revealed yesterday.

The youngsters were either involved in serious crimes such as robbery, burglary, dealing hard drugs and assault, or had committed six or more offences.

Nearly one in eight girls in the same age group were also heavily involved in crime, the 2003 Crime and Justice Survey said.

The study also revealed that the number of criminals in England and Wales is far higher than previously estimated.

There are an estimated 3.8 million "active offenders" - or ten per cent of people in the ten to 65 age group. Of the 3.8 million total, 2.1 million said they had committed a violent offence, 2.1 million had committed a property crime and 400,000 had sold drugs.

Only one per cent of offences resulted in a court appearance, the survey added.

Richard Garside, director of the crime policy charity the Crime and Society Foundation, said: "It confirms that offending is more widespread, common and everyday than the Government and Opposition claim.

"It challenges the reassuring myth that a small number of persistent offenders commit most crime."

A spokesman for Durham Police said last night that the county had bucked the national trend on violent crime, reporting a 14 per cent drop between April 2003 and March last year.

The number of burglaries has also fallen considerably during the past decade, together with car crime.

He said: "Quite often, because of the likes of fireworks being let off, minor damage, noise at night and things of that nature, there is a perception that crime is rife when in fact it is not

"Durham has one of the highest crime detection rates in the country and more bobbies on the beat than ever."

North Yorkshire Police reported a 13.1 per cent drop in crime from last April to the end of the year.

Just over 2,000 homes were burgled in that period - a drop of 43.1 per cent.

Vehicle crime was down 28.3 per cent and robberies down 12.9 per cent, from 303 to 264.

Violent crime, however, had risen by 28 per cent.

Force spokesman Tony Lidgate said: "We have more officers than ever before and we have prioritised offences such as burglary and car crime.

"We will continue to pursue this."

Cleveland Police said their latest figures showed a 5.6 per cent drop in the amount of crime between December 2003 and last month.

Home Secretary Charles Clarke said tackling violent crime was his biggest priority, but insisted that it had fallen when the statistics were examined "in the round".

The separate British Crime Survey showed nine per cent fewer violent crimes, although this excludes crimes against under-16s.

Mr Clarke also said the Government would be "building a massive problem for the future" if it did not try to get a grip on alcohol-fuelled offences.

There was a five per cent increase in the number of firearms offences in the year to September, reaching 10,670 incidents - 500 more than in the previous 12 months.

The total number of crimes recorded by police from July to September last year fell six per cent period-on-period to 1,395,900.

It included a seven per cent increase in violence against the person to 268,100 offences in the three months, compared with 250,200 in the same period in 2003.

The Crime and Justice Survey interviewed more than 10,000 people aged between ten and 65 about their offending.