The Home Office has released recorded crime figures for England and Wales - for the first time they include a breakdown of the statistics by police division. The BBC's Danny Shaw explains.

What difference does listing individual police division figures make?
Police force crime figures have always been available - what's different is that there are figures for each area, or division, within a force... around 320 divisions in total - enabling police to pinpoint exactly where the worst troublespots are. Targets will be set to reduce crime in those areas.

Why are some forces apparently better than others?
The composition of police forces varies hugely... some are rural, some urban, some a mixture... some areas have a high number of unemployed people, poverty and deprivation - which may lead to certain kinds of crime; others have a lot of businesses and shops, which may attract specific types of crime.

Then there's policing - there are 43 police forces and each one has its own way of doing things - some chief constables are better than others; some forces more motivated than others.

What are the improvements in the recording and reporting of crime which Home Secretary Jack Straw refers to?
Over the years, police have encouraged people to report certain types of offences they previously wouldn't have done - such as rape and race hate crimes. In those areas, there are signs the public has more confidence that the police will take them seriously if they do report the crimes. Also, police statistical methods and counting methods are more sophisticated and rigorous than they used to be.

Is there any reason why robberies increased by so much (19%) when other crimes have fallen or recorded smaller increases?
Most robberies are muggings - 85% - and most are carried out in four urban areas - in the Metropolitan police, West Midlands police, West Yorkshire and Greater Manchester. The police argue the increase is due to a reduction in the number of stop and searches - the tactic used by the police to question and search people on the street who may be in possession of weapons or drugs. But the precise reasons are far from clear. It may be a blip; it may be something to do with local conditions - it's very hard to know.

Do police chiefs favour stop and search?
Yes, especially those in urban areas like London. However, they recognise that stop and searches need to be conducted more sensitively and less needlessly.

What's the government's view?
They back stop and search as they say it is an effective tool in the fight against crime - however they too believe that officers could be more careful in the way stops are conducted and are concerned that disproportionate numbers of black people are stopped.

Does the Home Office point to any underlying reasons for the increase in crime?
The figures suggest that crime - which was falling for six years - has gone up slightly, by 2.2% - but it's not clear why. In some areas - 24 police forces - crime fell; two areas - the West Midlands and London - accounted for most of the increase - if it hadn't been for those two areas crime would have fallen.

The Home Office says that in the west Midlands, new counting methods may be responsible for the changes. In London, officers have had a difficult couple of years - with the MacPherson report hitting morale in the force and affecting people's confidence in the police.

Demographic factors come into it as well - rising numbers of young men - who commit most crimes may be a factor; and increasing affluence means more property to steal.

What do police chiefs say about the increase?
In London, they point to the last three months in which the upward crime trend has been reversed.

What do the opposition parties say about the increase?
They say it's down to Labour incompetence principally their failure to put more bobbies on the beat and provide resources for cash-strapped police forces.