Crime rate drops, but more blades on UK streets

Crime rates in Maidstone dropped slightly last year, according to new statistics, bucking the trend across England and Wales.

The Office for National Statistics’s data shows police recorded 16,987 offences in the borough during the 12 months to September.

That meant a rate of 100 offences for every 1,000 households in the area, compared to a national average of 85 per 1,000. It was a decrease on the number of offences in the previous year, when 17,176 were recorded. Across England and Wales, the number of police recorded crimes rose by 5% in the year to September, to more than five million offences.

Knife crime hit a record high, up by 7% on the previous 12 months, but the total number of murders and manslaughter cases recorded by police fell by 6%, from 654 to 617. Meanwhile, separate figures also released on Thursday show the proportion of crimes in England and Wales resulting in a charge or summons remained largely the same as the previous year, at 7.3% in the 12 months to September.

John Apter, national chairman of the Police Federation, called for “long-term, sustainable funding” to address the rise in violent crime.

He said cash pledges made by the government were “a move in the right direction” but were not enough to undo the damage of previous cuts.

Helen Ross, from the Office for National Statistics’ centre for crime and justice, said: “In the last year, there has been no change in overall levels of crime, however this hides variations in different types of crime. “Although the number of offences involving a knife have continued to increase, there is a mixed picture across police forces – and overall levels of violence remain steady.”

A Maidstone martial arts teacher is doing her bit to fight knife crime with classes teaching women and children how to protect themselves.

Heather Jordan set up the sessions at Surge Self Defence in Maidstone Community Centre a year ago, after she noticed most of her paying trainees were from “healthy financial backgrounds,” and saw the need for free lessons.

The 38-year-old said: “I had lots of people saying to me, ‘I wish I had the money to do that’. I think everybody deserves to know how to defend themselves regardless of financial background.”

The Marsham Street class,