BARNSLEY is the safest place in South Yorkshire, according to the region's police and crime commissioner.
Shaun Wright claims that 62 crimes are committed per 1,000 people in Barnsley, compared to 63 in Rotherham, 72 in Doncaster and 72 in Sheffield.
Mr Wright, who was born in Royston and later lived in Carlton and Higham before moving to Rotherham where he became a Labour councillor, says the biggest issues in Barnsley are related to car crime.
"Barnsley is the safest place in South Yorkshire in terms of overall crime when you compare to Rotherham, Doncaster and Sheffield," he said.
"When I grew up in Barnsley there were a lot less crimes than there are now. People were trusting and had greater respect for people and their property.
"Society has changed a lot but some of those historical values have been passed down from generation to generation.
"We all know that Barnsley folk - and South Yorkshire folk - are genuinely nicer than people in other parts of the country."
The top priorities remain around dealing with car crime, including car break-ins and the stealing of cars. Burglaries and shoplifting are also on the rise, but drugs possession is reducing.
"I must add that there's a whole raft of crimes that are going unreported. There are things like fraud, stalking and harassment and bullying through social media but many of these crimes go unreported, so I suspect if they were included then the statistics would be very different."
