CRIME and anti-social behaviour in Darlington is down by more than 4,000 cases, according to new figures.

The figures published by police show there have been 3,167 fewer victims of anti-social behaviour since the start of this year until the end of October, compared with the same period last year, leading to a 40 per cent reduction.

Crime has also fallen by 20 per cent, with 1,254 fewer victims of crime and an average of one burglary a day across the town, which has a population of more than 100,000.

Chief Inspector Chris Reeves, of Darlington Police, was delighted with the results and put them down to a number of factors, in particular the community engagement seen at monthly police and communities together (PACT) meetings.

He said: “This is a landmark figure to hit and I am absolutely delighted as it means we have fewer victims of crime in Darlington.

“However this is not about statistics, it’s about real people not being the victims of crime or anti-social behaviour.

“People tell us when and where they are having problems and we work with them to address the problem. The monthly PACT meetings are a focus for this flow of information - they bring residents, Darlington Borough Council, local councillors and the police together to solve local problems.”

He praised the work of some local residents who came together through on their own initiative to deter crime.

“A group of people with a shared access to their gardens noticed that people were starting to wander into this area,” he said.

“They had no crimes but clubbed together to buy and put up a gate – this very simple action stopped potential criminals from accessing their gardens.”

Officers believe a number of campaigns have also helped to reduce the number of victims of anti-social behavior and crime in Darlington, including the current Operation Staysafe.

Every night from October 31 to November 5, officers from the North Road beat police team and Darlington Borough Council’s anti-social behaviour team have been patrolling the streets of Darlington as part of the campaign, which aims to tackle anti-social behavior and binge drinking during school holidays.

Sergeant Daryl Edmunds from Darlington Police said: “On Friday we had 11 more officers than normal covering the town which is a huge amount, and arrested a 15-year-old for disorderly behavior.

“Over the week we have taken a number of drunk youngsters back to the station, where their parents come and pick them up and discuss their child’s behaviour. Overall it has been very successful and anti-social behaviour is going down.”