POLICE chiefs in Lancashire are warning the public not to panic when changes in the way crime is recorded come into effect next year.

The Home Office has called for extra offences to be added to the statistics to paint a clearer picture of crime patterns.

And police bosses have admitted that the former system was flawed and did not give a true impression of crime rates in the county.

The changes mean recorded crimes in Lancashire will soar by a quarter in the next 12 months.

If current rates stay as they are, the number of crimes recorded in the county will leap from 120,000 to 150,000 over the next 12 months.

Lancashire police have been working closely with the Home Office on the new system and Inspector Colin Moore has been charged with overseeing the changes to the system.

Criminal damage offences under £20 will be included for the first time, along with some types of fraud offences and minor drugs offences.

Rules on recording car crime have been changed, along with threatening behaviour cases. Lancashire Assistant Chief Constable Dave Smith said: "In the short term, people might be worried about the impression that crime levels are leaping up.

"We know that a large part of any apparent increase can be explained by these changes in the way we count the crimes.

"There will be no more or less people suffering crimes than there would have been anyway, and it is important people are aware of this when they compare levels of crime with previous years.

"Traditionally, the officially recorded crime rate has been regarded by some as a measure of police performance and the changes could be otherwise misleading."

Mr Smith added: "On the positive side we have always known that the old system has not been a true indicator of the levels of crime.

"We hope that these new rules will give us a more accurate picture of how many people are being affected by crime and that, in due course, the information will help the police to identify crime trends more accurately and to ensure that policing activity reflects the needs and concerns of our community."

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