Crimewave UK
North bears brunt of surging violence fuelled by rise of drug gangs in suburbs
‘Seriousness and complexity’
THE most crime-ridden regions of England are in the North, latest figures from police forces have revealed, as a surge in ‘county lines’ drug gangs has seen the suburbs plagued by violence.
West Yorkshire topped the list of shame, with 128 crimes per 1,000 people during the 12 months to June.
Despite London being gripped by its worst murder toll in more than a decade that saw 146 people killed on its streets during the year, its crime figures placed it joint 11th, alongside Gwent in Wales. However, the capital had the highest number of thefts and robberies, with just under 50 offences per 1,000 people.
Data from the Office For National Statistics (ONS), which did not include fraud offences, revealed that some of the most crime-ridden areas of the country are Cleveland, Greater Manchester, Humberside, Lancashire, Northumbria, South Yorkshire and Durham.
The only southern region in the top ten was Kent, with 106 recorded crimes per 1,000 people, but it had the second-highest level of violent crimes, such as murder and assaults.
The official data showed evidence of rising lawlessness in Wild West Britain and a soaring number of crimes being reported to police.
There were 6.02million recorded crimes in the 12 months, including non-violent offences such as theft and fraud – a 7 per cent year-on-year rise.
Knife crime jumped 7 per cent on a year earlier, while there was a 15 per cent rise in violent crimes recorded by police to a total of 1.7million offences, or three every minute.
West Yorkshire’s figures included the highest rate of violent crimes, at 47 per 1,000 people. Mark Ridley, temporary assistant chief constable at West Yorkshire Police, said: ‘Criminality is not only increasing, but evolving in terms of seriousness and complexity.’
Gloucestershire, North Yorkshire and Dyfed-Powys in Wales were the safest places to live with 56 offences per 1,000 people recorded by police forces.