John Clarke, Chair of Nottinghamshire Police Authority, gives his view on the crime figures

"This is the sixth consecutive year that overall crime in Nottinghamshire has fallen. Significant improvements have been made in key areas, but other forces have also improved. We will keep asking, on behalf of the public, what else can be done to speed up progress.

"People are less likely to be victims of crime in Nottinghamshire than they were six years ago and there was a reduction of over 9,500 crimes last year, but we would like to see the odds on becoming a victim reduce still further. Last year, the authority asked the force to address burglary as a high priority, which led to a 6% drop. I would like to see this type of result in other areas, but it all costs money.

"It is clear that the shortfall in funding is still having an effect on performance. There are a lot of good people out there, working hard to combat crime, but lack of resources does have an impact. I will continue to campaign for changes to the funding formula that will take into account the nature of the area, particularly the metropolitan nature of Nottingham.

"The authority's Performance Committee is aware of the challenges faced by the force and is monitoring the improvement programme to ensure that timescales for improvement are met. The whole authority is particularly keen to see the crimes that most impact on the quality of life in communities being addressed effectively. Major crime makes major headlines, but I'm aware that often it is the little things that make a huge difference to the quality of life in communities."