The Office of National Statistics’ (ONS) have confirmed that reported crime levels have increased by 5% in North Yorkshire.
The ONS Crime in England and Wales, year ending December 2017 bulletin, was published on Thursday 26 April 2018.
This is published statistics for recorded, actual crimes will be more. The figures can indicate less crime actually happening, but they can also indicate less resource being committed in apprehending criminals – so the figures need to be used with caution.
It shows there were a total of reported 38,478 crimes in North Yorkshire during the 12-month period – a crime rate of 47.1 per 1,000 of the population.
Broken down into the main crime categories, the ONS figures for North Yorkshire show:
- Burglary increased by 3% (3,737 crimes in total, of which 2,084 are recorded as domestic burglaries and 1,653 non-domestic burglaries
- Drug offences decreased by 4% (1,494 crimes in total)
- Violence and against the person increased by 10% (10,368 crimes in total), which is broken down into Violence with Injury (4,791 crimes in total, a 4% increase); Violence without Injury category (4,251 crimes in total, a 17% increase); Harassment and Stalking (1,308 crimes in total, an 11% increase)
- Possession of weapons offences up by 13% (233 crimes in total)
- Robbery increased by 20% (165 crimes in total)
- Theft offences increased by 2% (16,602 crimes in total)
- Theft from the person down by 19% (398 crimes in total)
- Bicycle theft reduced by 15% (1,193 crimes in total)
- Shoplifting increased by 14% (4,638 crimes in total)
- All other theft offences up by 1% (4,386 crimes in total)
- Criminal damage and arson up by 2% (5,894 crimes in total)
- Vehicle Offences stayed the same with 2,250 crimes in total
- Sexual offences increased by 15% (1,546 crimes in total). As previously highlighted, this rise is regarded as a positive reflection of the confidence victims have in North Yorkshire Police, particularly those making historical complaints in the wake of high profile historical sexual abuse cases, plus support from dedicated facilities for victims of sexual assault
- Public order offences up by 4% (1,413 crimes in total)
- Miscellaneous crimes against society, which includes the possession and publication of extreme sexual images, increased by 20% with 763 crimes in total
Julia Mulligan, elected Police and Crime Commissioner, said:
It is heartening to see North Yorkshire continue to compare well against other forces in the country, and that we continue to be the safest place in England. I would like to thank all North Yorkshire Police officers, staff and volunteers for the hard work involved in keeping us safe.
There are of course areas where the service must continue to improve including recording crime, especially crimes of stalking or harassment, and of course any increase in crime is unwelcome. At present, I am particularly keen to ensure that North Yorkshire Police thinks carefully about its response in rural, as well as urban areas, as some types of crime are definitely on the increase.
North Yorkshire Police’s Assistant Chief Constable Amanda Oliver said:
While we’re not immune from the national trend, which shows a rise in crime in all but one force area, the increase here in North Yorkshire is the lowest in northern England. It’s also among the lowest nationally.
Together with our local authority and community partners, North Yorkshire Police continues to work very hard to maintain our status as one of the very safest and low-crime areas in the country.
There is no doubt that these are challenging times for the police service as whole, but we are determined to reverse this trend in our own patch through a combination of strong neighbourhood policing and a proactive approach to tackling and deterring offenders who come into North Yorkshire from other counties.
We have also been working hard to encourage more victims to report crime as we continue to improve the way these crimes are recorded. Our commitment to raising awareness of crime, building confidence within our communities and having the right resources and procedures in place when victims do come forward all play an important part in this.
I thank everybody connected to North Yorkshire Police for their unrelenting commitment and professionalism in keeping our communities safe from harm.
Hardly unexpected as the amount of poverty increases under the current administration – coupled with the lack of funding for police and cuts to public services. Still, if people can afford to buy burglar alarms and the odd baseball bat to keep under the bed, it’s worth keeping the current lot in.