Incidences of anti-social behaviour dropped by 14% across County Durham and Darlington in the twelve months to end of June 2016, it has been announced. The decrease is highlighted in the latest Public Performance Report from Ron Hogg, the Police, Crime and Victims’ Commissioner for County Durham and Darlington. There were reductions in every neighbourhood policing area, with an impressive reduction of 22% in Peterlee compared to the previous twelve months. The report also shows that victim-based crime has increased by 20%, although the report explains that this is for a range of reasons. The biggest reason is a change to the way that harassment is recorded compared with this time last year: harassment is now recorded as a crime the first time it is reported, instead of the second time. Another reason for the increase is that people are more confident to report crimes such as sexual offences. There have also been increases in the numbers of burglaries and cases of criminal damage. Ron has sought assurance that whilst the number of recorded crimes is going up, the measure of harm which the Force use, the Cambridge Harm Index, shows that harm to the public is not increasing. Commenting on the figures, Ron said: “The decrease in anti-social behaviour is good news for everyone living in the area. The 20% increase in recorded victim-based crime does not mean that the actual number of crimes has increased by that percentage: it is largely a consequence of changes to classifications. It is also likely that it will continue to rise as we have not yet seen the full impact of those changes. “Nonetheless, the increases in burglary and recorded crime are concerns, and I would encourage everyone to make sure that they lock their doors and windows to make it as hard as possible for wouldbe thieves, and people should report any suspicious behaviour to Crimestoppers.” “I will continue to hold the Chief Constable to account for delivering an effective Police Force. He and the Constabulary are continuing to do a great job with ever-decreasing resources. “I have made ‘tackling crime and making our communities safer’ one of the three key aims in my next Police, Crime and Victims’ Plan, which is currently the subject of a consultation exercise. I need as many local people as possible to take part in the consultation, so that I can be sure that the objectives which I am setting for the Force address the needs of our local communities.” The user-friendly  Public Performance Report is available on Ron’s website  at www.durham-pcc.gov.uk  Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111. Further advice about crime prevention is available on the Durham Constabulary website at www.durham.police.uk