We're winning the war on crime - that was the emphatic message delivered by police chiefs.

Figures released last month showed that Norfolk, together with Devon and Cornwall, had the lowest level of crime committed per population in the country.

And Norfolk Constabulary's success in tackling crime was something deputy chief constable Simon Bailey was keen to reiterate at a meeting of Norfolk Police Authority's performance and engagement committee yesterday.

Members of the committee heard that there had been a total crime reduction of 29pc in the past five years with current figures showing Norfolk to be the third best performing force in the country in terms of all recorded crime and anti-social behaviour.

The figures, available on the HM Inspectorate of Constabulary's Crime and Policing Comparator website, show in the 12 months to June 2011 Norfolk had just 50.84 offences per 1,000 population.

The best performing force was City of London Police with just 20.74 offences per 1,000 population.

Mr Bailey said: 'Our performance is extremely good. We need to look at the context of our ongoing performance - we've reduced crime over the past five years by the best part of 30pc. It's a very positive picture.

'There's a real misunderstanding of volume of crime in the county. In the current economic climate we're delivering what I think is a positive performance and providing a really good service.'

Do you have a crime story for the Evening News? Email peter.walsh@archant.co.uk.