HATE crime figures for the county have increased by almost 40 per cent since last year, according to new figures.

But Kent Police chiefs say they believe it is due partly to more victims having the confidence to come forward to report offences.

The figures compare the period from April to June with the same three months in 2004.

There were 70 more hate crimes, a rise of 39.5 per cent. A total of 247 offences were recorded, compared with 177 at the same time last year.

The number of detections almost doubled, rising from 44 to 82, an increase of 86.4per cent.

A police spokesman said: "The rise in the number of reported hate crimes can be largely attributed to the work Kent Police has been doing to engage with ethnic minority and other groups. This, in turn, is building confidence in people to report crimes of this nature to police."

Deputy Chief Constable Jim Barker-McCardle said: “Increasingly we are working with our partners to tackle problems earlier, including domestic violence and hate crime, with initiatives that reach out into communities and encourage victims to come forward."

The quarterly figures show the overall number of crimes in Kent went up by just over six per cent during April to June 2005, compared with the same period in the previous year.

The police figures for the first quarter of this financial year show that 23 people in every 1,000 in the county were victims of crime, up slightly from 22 in the same quarter last year. Despite this, Kent remains one of the safest areas in England and Wales.

Although crime has increased, so have detections – 2,339 more crimes were solved than in the same three-month period last year, a rise of 37.8 per cent, from 6,183 to 8,522.

The overall success rate for cases resulting in the offender being charged, cautioned, issued a fixed penalty notice or having the offence taken into consideration by a court has gone up by more than five percentage points, to 23.3%.

Mr Barker-McCardle said: “It obviously concerns us when figures show any increase in crime, although figures for just one quarter are not helpful in interpreting longer-term patterns and trends. However, we are confident that our work in and with communities is getting results, encouraging more people to report problems to us.

“While the overall figures are up, so too is our success in dealing with crime. Against a background of a six per cent rise in reported crime, we are detecting and dealing with more offences.

“Our survey work reveals a consistent theme of high levels of victim satisfaction, across a range of offence types, in terms of how we treat and support victims of crime. Clearly we will continue striving to improve the quality of service we provide, but victim satisfaction in Kent compares very favourably with the levels elsewhere.

“Our biggest challenge just now lies in tackling crimes involving violence, many of which are linked to nuisance behaviour. We are already targeting this problem through a range of activities including Operation Excalibur, which targets anti-social behaviour.”

Overall, violent crime offences rose by nearly a fifth (19.8 percent, 1,248 offences), but affected fewer than five people in every 1,000 living in Kent. This tends to reflect the national pattern of greatly increased reporting and recording of less serious offences of violence. Using the Home Office definition of more serious violent crime, the increase in Kent is only six crimes.

Violence against individuals, which includes harassment and common assault, rose by 21.4 per cent (1,191 offences). Alcohol is thought to be a factor in many of these cases.

Sexual offences, which now include indecent exposure and internet offences, increased by 47 reported offences (10.9 per cent). The number of domestic violence incidents went up by 182, continuing to reflect the work that is done to encourage victims to report these crimes.

“In recent years, the National Crime Recording Standard and the Sexual Offences Act 2003* have changed the way crimes are categorised and this has contributed in part to the rise in the headline figures for violent crime across England and Wales.

"In Kent our compliance with these standards, as tested by external auditors, is very high. Not all forces enjoy this ‘green traffic light rating’ for their crime reporting practices.

“We mustn’t forget that violent crime can also include anti-social behaviour, such as verbal abuse. We are dealing with hotspots by working with local authorities to set up dispersal areas and we are tackling this, too, through the growing number of neighbourhood police officers working with local communities. We know the information and intelligence that local people give us is key to identifying offenders and trends in crime.”

Burglary and car crime are still falling in Kent, continuing the downward trend for these crimes in the county over the last decade. Other forces are now following suit, with the Home Office announcing an overall downward trend nationally.

In Kent, burglaries from people’s homes fell by 4.2 per cent, or 70 offences. The burglary rate is less than three per 1,000 households. The force continues to target persistent offenders through anti-burglary initiatives including Operation Castle, which is run on a regular basis.

Offences involving a firearm in Kent remain rare. The figures released related to a different time period. A total of 122 crimes were recorded between July 2004 and June 2005 – a rise of 56.4% – but nearly half involved imitation or replica weapons (59 compared with 21 in the previous year). No fatal injuries were recorded. There were six serious injuries and 44 slight injuries – with 34 incidents involving no injury. The category excludes air weapons.