Nearly 400 fewer cars were stolen in South Yorkshire last year

Nearly 400 fewer cars were stolen in South Yorkshire last year compared to the previous 12 months.

Between April 2012 and March this year there were 2,281 car thefts compared to 2,668 over the same period last year, the latest figures from South Yorkshire Police have shown.

However, overall vehicle crime saw a slight increase of 1% with the figure rising from 11,315 to 11,373.

Thefts from vehicles were also up on last year with 8,931 recorded offences compared to 8,460 in the previous 12 months resulting in a 6% rise.

Despite the rises, South Yorkshire Police Chief Constable David Crompton said he was ‘really pleased’ with the figures which saw total crime down by 7%.

“They represent us working as hard as we can to make life difficult for criminals,” he said.

“It has been a difficult year for the force, but people have kept focused on the job in hand.

“When you add to that the scale of budget cuts we have had, we have done well to keep crime going down.

“Our ambition is to keep it going down.”