BURY Police has a new second-in-command: and the first major announcement for Superintendent Peter Scofield was to insist that his staff are winning the war against crime. But he warned that more still needs to be done to ensure the borough remains the safest in Greater Manchester. Here, Supt Scofield reports on the crime figures in Bury's N Division.

I WOULD like to share with readers the news about levels of crime in Bury over the period April, 2003, to March.

In playing our part to meet the Chief Constable's pledge to make Greater Manchester safer and to bring criminals to justice, police officers at Bury, together with our partners, are faced with two essential challenges: the need to do everything we can to prevent crime from taking place and, where crime is committed, the need to do our best to bring offenders to justice.

Last year, we were able to reduce the number of crimes committed from 22,567 to 20,906. That is a decrease of 7.4 per cent. This means that in Bury there were 1,661 fewer victims of crime than during the previous year.

Not only were there fewer crimes committed, but also we were able to bring to justice 240 more offenders than in the previous year (3,558 in 2003/4, up from 3,318 in 2002/3, a rise of 7.2 per cent).

In Bury, as in the rest of Greater Manchester, we prioritise our efforts to concentrate on categories of crime which cause particular problems for our community.

Burglaries bring misery to those who become victims, so it's good to report that domestic burglaries reduced from 2,305 to 1,761, a reduction of 544 victims (23.6 per cent). We were able to catch more criminals responsible for committing burglaries. A total of 219 offences were detected, compared to 131 the previous year, a rise of 67.2 per cent.

Robberies, too, were a priority for our officers. There were 30 fewer victims of robbery, with 509 offences being committed compared to 539 the previous year, a reduction of 5.6 per cent. We caught more robbers, too, with 98 offences being detected, as against 69 in 2002/3.

With vehicle crime, although we caught slightly fewer offenders (222 this year compared with 261 the year before), the good news is that 546 fewer people had their cars taken, or property taken from their cars. In 2002/3 there were 4,307 vehicle crimes committed, and last year there were 3,761, a reduction of 12.7 per cent.

Of course, it's not all good news. Violent crime has increased nationally, and across Greater Manchester by 6.4 per cent. In Bury, the increase was very slight, though still unwelcome.

Violent crime, which includes reports of minor assaults with no injuries, as well as more serious matters, rose very slightly by 0.3 per cent. A total of 3,701 offences were recorded, 11 more than in the previous year. Many of those offences are caused by disorderly behaviour in the streets and too much drink!

We want to bring those kinds of incidents down over the next year, as well as working hard to reduce assaults and violent behaviour in the home.

It is pleasing, though, that in 2003/4 serious offences involving violence, those where someone is hurt very badly and intentionally, reduced by 26.1 per cent from 142 the previous year to 105.

Faced with all the bad news we see on our television screens and in our newspapers, it's very easy to feel that things are getting worse all the time, and that no-one cares.

We do face great challenges in working with our partners, and with the people of Bury, but the fact is that over the last year crime has reduced significantly and more criminals have been caught and dealt with. These results clearly demonstrate that the police in Bury are confronting criminality, and our pledge is to continue the hard work, seeking to achieve further improvements over the next 12 months. And that is exactly what we aim to do.

SUPERINTENDENT Scofield has been married for 31 years, has two daughters, aged 29 and 25, and lives in Bolton.

He joined Greater Manchester Police in 1987 and worked for three years as a PC and a detective constable in his home town.

In September, 1990, he was promoted and worked as a patrol sergeant and in the custody unit in Wigan. Two years later, the 49-year-old became an inspector and worked on the streets of Manchester city centre. He was later attached to the Discipline and Complaints Branch and was instrumental in setting up the force's Area Operations Rooms.

He became a Chief Inspector in June ,1998, and his current rank in 2000. Prior to his move to Bury, Supt Scofield was attached to the Bolton Division and assisted in its restructuring process while preparing for a return to a more operational role.

Of his new title as deputy of Bury Police, with responsibility for operational duties, Supt Scofield, said: "I am very pleased to be here in Bury. First impressions are of a good place to live and work, and I am hoping to work with the our committed and professional police officers in helping to make Bury even better.

"Crime figures for last year show great success in our fight to reduce crime and bring offenders to justice and I look forward to further success over the next 12 months."