RISING crime figures should not be seen as sign of failure, according to Humberside's police and crime commissioner.
Matthew Grove said that an increase in crime in Hull – the first for ten years – does not mean it will continue to climb.
When he was elected in 2012, Mr Grove said his top priority was to reduce crime. However, overall crime in Hull rose by 11 per cent between April last year and March this year.
Despite the increase, which included sharp rises in violence, robbery and thefts, Mr Grove said he believes crime will still fall.
"As I have always said, we need to be very cautious about reading too much into any one set of figures, whether they are good or bad," he said.
"They can be used to guide police operations but I don't think they should be used as a mark of success or failure.
"We need to remember they are not a measure of police activity or performance, they are more a measure of society.
"Crime fluctuates and you get changes from year to year. It is also important to remember we are very ethical about recording crime. We don't try to manipulate or doctor figures."
The force has lost hundreds of officers since the Government slashed its budget in 2010.
About 200 officers and up to 600 police staff will go in the next five years as part of plans to save a further £30m.
However, Mr Grove said the cuts were not linked to the rise in crime.
"Policing has an effect on crime figures but it is not the biggest influence," he said.
"There will be another significant reduction in officers over the next few years but there has also been a significant increase in special constables since I was elected.
"It is not as black and white as it is portrayed by some."
Mr Grove said he was particularly concerned to see increases in house burglary and violence in the city.
Violent crime without injury rose by 38.9 per cent, while violent offences where somebody was hurt went up by 6.9 per cent.
There were 88 more houses broken into during the year when compared with previous year, a rise of 6 per cent.
"That is one of my most concerning increases," he said.
"While it is a small number, house burglary is incredibly serious. It is devastating and we are tackling it head-on with a lot of resources.
"We also need to tackle violence without injury because it can escalate into serious violence where somebody becomes injured or worse.
"Where we are seeing significant increases, they are generally the less damaging crimes. Burglary from a shed or outbuilding is not as devastating or invasive as having someone in your house.
"For shop theft, each individual crime is not as damaging as other crimes to victims. Having said that, both of these crimes are being tackled head-on.
"If you look at the figures from two years ago, we still have less crime than we did then in Hull, so the overall trend is downwards."
