Nottinghamshire Police achieved the second-best overall fall in crime rate figures in the country.

New national statistics released today show robberies, burglaries, knife crime and other serious offences all plummeted, marking a sustained drop which started well before the impact of the pandemic.

The fall of crime recorded in Nottinghamshire was ahead of the national average and only bettered by the City of London Police – which covers just a square mile of the capital.

Continued investment in specialist policing teams and more officers helped the force to record an overall annual fall in crime of 21 per cent – comfortably ahead of the national average of 14 per cent.

The new figures, released by the Office for National Statistics, show 22,239 fewer offences were recorded in the 12 months to April 2021.

Burglaries fell by 34 per cent, robberies by 36 per cent and theft offences by 33 per cent, and serious sexual offences saw a significant reduction too.

Offences of violence with injury fell by 25 per cent and knife crime by 15 per cent, as officers continued with a raft of proactive initiatives designed to prevent offences as well as allow them to pursue those who cause communities most harm.

Chief Constable Craig Guildford said: "Today's figures confirm the continuation of some extremely positive trends witnessed before the start of the pandemic. I am delighted not only that we are out-performing almost every other force in the country, but also that some of the biggest falls have been reported in areas where we have taken the decision to invest in specialist teams of front-line officers and detectives.

"Our two knife crime teams are now out and about every day in locations across the county and our network of Operation Reacher teams have been causing drug dealers and other criminals sleepless nights with a relentless series of early morning raids. They have now notched up more than 500 different raids and will continue to add to this number in the coming weeks and months.

"Again, I am delighted by these excellent results and would like to extend my thanks to every officer and staff member who made them possible. In uniquely difficult and demanding circumstances they have risen to the challenge and allowed us to better support victims of crime, bring offenders to justice, and build ever stronger links with the communities we serve. I am sure residents will also be reassured to know that during the same period we recruited an additional 202 new police officers to help us continue with our vital work in reducing the number of victims."

"I thank the community for continuing to give us the intelligence and rest assured our increasing officer headcount will continue to make an impact as we move out of the current restrictions over the summer. We have some of the best local partnership arrangements in the country and it would be remiss of me not to underline their huge contribution to our success."

Nottinghamshire Police and Crime Commissioner Caroline Henry said: "A lot of people have worked really hard in challenging circumstances for this reduction, and I thank them all on behalf of Nottinghamshire's residents. Over recent months I have listened to people telling me that they wanted to see less burglary, less violence, less theft and that is just what we are seeing today.

"Now the challenge is to sustain this downward trend. I promised to be tough on crime, to stop crime before it happens and to put victims and residents at the heart of my policing priorities. My Police and Crime plan will reflect those promises so that we can continue to make Nottinghamshire safer."