Violent crime falling in county

Violent crime in Northamptonshire is falling, according to new figures released by the police.

The figures showed there were 702 fewer victims of violent crime in 2008 compared with last year.

There were 6,574 crimes of violence between April and October 2007 compared with 5,872 crimes during the same period in 2008.

Police said its success was due in part to schemes to tackle alcohol-related violence and high profile patrols.

Insp Helen Knight, of Northamptonshire Police, said that response officers have been given additional training emphasising the importance of gathering evidence at the earliest stage of an incident.

"Crimes of violence are a huge concern to people," she said.

"We have made a determined effort to target the types of violent crime that we can have an impact on and to improve our response both to them and to sporadic incidents that occur."