Crime figures a further boost for home secretary Theresa May

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The number of crimes committed in England and Wales fell by nine per cent in the year ending March 2013 – the lowest estimate since the survey began in 1981.

The latest estimate form the Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) estimate there were 8.6m crimes committed in this period, less than half the peak level in 1995.

Victim-based crime accounted for 83 per cent of all police recorded crime (3.1m of a total 3.7m offences) and fell by nine per cent over the year. Within victim-based crime, there was a fall in all main categories apart from theft from the person (up nine per cent) and sexual offences (up one per cent).

Other crimes against society recorded by the police dropped by ten per cent.

This will be good news for home secretary Theresa May, who it seems has successfully implemented reforms to make the police service more meritocratic, including introducing skills-based pay (rather than service-based) and the opportunity for fast-tracked promotion.