Antisocial behaviour is declining in the county, according to the latest police figures.

Between April and August, incidents of antisocial behaviour dropped by 10.6 per cent to 43,752.

The sanctioned detection rate rose to 32.8 per cent, up from 27.7 per cent and the number of arrests rose to 8.4 per cent or 24,038, compared to the same period last year.

Assistant Chief Constable Carmel Napier said she was proud of the force's achievements, but insisted there was still more to be done.

"Policing is a balancing act and it's a tough one," she said. "We can be proud that our sanctioned detection rate is rising and that we are eighth in the country, but we must recognise that every crime has a victim and those victims would rather they hadn't suffered the crime in the first place.

"Our main aim remains the same - to provide high standards of service and public reassurance while driving down crime."

Mrs Napier continued: "This means reducing crime and anti-social behaviour and detecting more of the crimes and incidents which are reported to us - this is the balancing act and we need to get it right.

"It is better not to have a crime at all than have to detect a crime, where there is always a victim."

She concluded that while the force has already proved it is "capable of meeting tough targets", staff and officers must now show they can continue to perform at the highest level.