Crime dominated the election agenda yesterday, with two sets of statistics offering different perspectives on the state of law and order in Britain.

Although official figures showed continuing falls in the overall crime rate in England and Wales, the Conservatives pointed to a surge in violent crime as evidence that Labour's policies were failing.

The British Crime Survey said that crime in England and Wales dropped by 11 per cent, while the police's recorded crime figures said it fell by five per cent.

Although the BCS showed an 11 per cent fall in violent crime, the police figures suggested a nine per cent rise.

The Home Office said the nine per cent figure was due to changes in police recording methods, but the Conservatives dismissed this explanation.

Shadow home secretary David Davis said: "The government's complacency is breathtaking. Charles Clarke said that violent crime is falling yet recorded statistics - the ones that Labour used in opposition and in their own manifesto - show that violent crime has risen by another nine per cent in the last quarter."

Responding to the figures, Tony Blair promised to reduce crime overall by a further 15 per cent by 2008 and to provide a visible "neighbourhood policing team" for every community.

But Mark Oaten of the Liberal Democrats said Labour's promises "ring hollow in the light of the latest violent crime figures".

"The binge drinking culture is to blame, and in eight years Labour has done little about it," he added.

Home secretary Charles Clarke promised to introduce a "flagship violent crime reduction bill" within weeks of the general election.

This legislation would include tougher sentences for knife and gun crime, raise the age at which a young person can buy a knife from 16 to 18 and make it illegal to buy an imitation firearm below the age of 18.

Several papers pick up on the story of a young mother who was stabbed in the neck in front of her two year old son in a small village outside London.

The Telegraph says the case shows "the reality behind the statistics".