NEW statistics can allow householders in the North-East to check on local crime levels online.

Senior police hope the figures will allow local people to get more accurate information about their local area.

Thirteen police forces, including three from the North-East, are using experimental data to give a more detailed breakdown of crime figures.

The information, which dates from 2003 and 2004, is being made available on the Internet by the Office of National Statistics. The figures give details for much smaller areas of population.

Previously, the Home Office only compiled crime statistics for police command units and at the level of district councils, London boroughs, metropolitan borough and unitary authorities which can have huge populations.

Now, the new sets of figures are divided into "middle layer super output areas", which have been drawn up for statistical purposes and contain an average of 7,000 people.

A cross-section of random towns in The Northern Echo's circulation area revealed Middlesbrough to have one of the highest crime rates, with 2,922 violent crimes against the person.

One of the lowest areas was Barnard Castle, in Teesdale, County Durham, with only 69 violent crimes recorded and no robberies.

Offences listed in the tables include wounding, harassment, common assault, robbery, theft, criminal damage, burglary and theft.

The three North-East police forces which have signed up to the statistics are Durham, Northumbria and Cleveland.

Chief Superintendent Dave Lumb, head of strategy and corporate planning at Cleveland Police, said: "Obviously, getting a good understanding of what's going on at a local level helps us to deploy resources to the correct areas and work with our partners to tackle crime.

"If you live in a local area, it's important to understand what happens there so you can take adequate precaution and these statistics allow people to do that."

A Home Office spokesman said: "These statistics will inform local policy making and it will help us channel funding in reducing deprivation and contributing to reducing crime."

The Home Office intends to collect detailed local data for every police force in England and Wales.

The other forces releasing the local data are Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire, West Midlands, West Yorkshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire, Nottinghamshire, Devon and Cornwall and the Metropolitan police.

The crime figures can be accessed at www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk