All crime in Staffordshire has plummeted by nine per cent, official Home Office figures have revealed. The force saw significant reductions in robbery, violence and house burglaries during the 12 months from September 2010.

The only crime categories that saw an increase in the county were drugs offences, up by four per cent, and non-house burglary, up by five.

The nine per cent drop in overall crime means there were 66,887 offences during the period. Robbery was down 24 per cent in that time.

In the same period violence with injury was down by 23 per cent and house burglary by seven per cent.

Assistant chief constable Jane Sawyers said she was pleased that the figures revealed crime was falling.

“This is good news for the people of Staffordshire who can rest assured that we, together with our partners, are doing all we can to keep people safe, and make them feel safe,” she said.

“We are particularly pleased with the falling crime in relation to burglary of people’s homes, robbery and vehicle crime as these are the crimes which our community tell us they are most concerned about.”

The figures – compiled by the British Crime Survey – give an indication of the coalition Government’s record on crime. The survey is based on interviews with tens of thousands of people in more than 45,000 households.

Nationally, the number of crimes recorded by police fell by four per cent to 4.1 million. The fall was fuelled by a drop in the number of all crime offence groups except robbery and other thefts, which were up four per cent.

West Midlands Police saw a five per cent reduction in crime, with 204,847 offences. However, the force saw a 10 per cent increase in robberies. West Mercia Police – which includes Bridgnorth and Shropshire – was one of the only forces in England and Wales to see an increase in crime, with offences up by one per cent.

By Crime Correspondent Shaun Jepson