See the bottom of the story for the full reports CRIME rates are falling in the county and more crimes are being detected, according to annual performance figures.

Hampshire Constabulary has also come out top among its group of most similar forces for the number of people who believe their local police are doing a good job.

As we revealed last week, crime in the county is down 8.8 per cent meaning there were about 16,000 fewer offences during 2007/08.

Detection rates have also increased in all areas including violent crime, house burglaries and vehicle crime.

Hampshire has been measured against other forces of similar size including Avon and Somerset, Bedfordshire, Essex, Kent, Leicestershire, Northamptonshire and Thames Valley. It has the lowest number of house burglaries for the second year running and the lowest number of vehicle crimes.

Nationally, the force also comes out as third best for providing public satisfaction according to the data compiled by the British Crime Survey which was released yesterday.

The county's specialist units that tackle the most serious crimes - including the child abuse investigation unit, special branch and the serious and organised crime unit, saw its detection rate reach 57.2 per cent, having dealt with a total number of 1,246 incidents.

They included operations across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight to disrupt and dismantle more than 30 of the most serious organised crime groups involved in supply of drugs, money laundering, kidnap and ID theft.

However, the county was ranked in the bottom five of 42 forces for victims of vehicle crime, the number of people caught possessing weapons increased and the county ranked worst out of all likesize forces for cases of common assault and sexual offences.

Commenting on the figures, Chief Constable Paul Kernaghan said the past year saw good results mixed with stories of human tragedy.

He said: "The constabulary's achievements in both reducing crime and increasing our detection rates speak volumes for the commitment and professionalism of all my officers and staff and the partner agencies."

Councillor Jacqui Rayment, chairman of Hampshire Police Authority, said it had been a successful year for the force but added: "As a police authority we are not complacent about these results, and in the coming year have asked the constabulary to pay particular attention to a few areas where we can improve still further."