CAR crime may have been significantly reduced by the introduction of safer parking in North Yorkshire.
Five of the county's car parks have been given special security status by the Association of Chief Police Officers under a scheme supported by the Home Office.
Sample evidence of car parks already in the scheme show average reductions in crime of about 70 per cent.
The Government is now challenging all car-park owners to help the crackdown on crime to get their car parks awarded the status.
The five in North Yorkshire include the Victoria and West Park car parks in Harrogate, the Friarage Hospital car park, in Northallerton, and the Shambles multi-storey and Grimston Bar park-and-ride car parks, in York.
The county's Chief Constable, David Kenworthy, said: "Safe and secure parking is a major preventative measure against crime and we fully back any efforts to spread the concept further.
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