Violent crime in county showing alarming rise
CRIME is rising in Leicestershire - with victims experiencing nearly 6,000 extra violent offences in 2018.
New figures from the Crime Survey for England and Wales reveal a total of 86,251 crimes took place in our county in the year to September 2018.
That is up by 9,908 crimes from the 76,343 recorded the previous year.
Violent crimes against the person - an umbrella term for violent crimes - have seen a particular increase.
There were 24,780 in the year to September 2018, up from 18,985 the previous year.
The 24,780 violent crimes in Leicestershire last year included 7,282 recorded as “violence with injury” and 6,111 crimes of stalking or harassment.
There were also 15 crimes in which a person caused death or serious injury by unlawful driving.
Sixteen homicides were recorded in Leicestershire in the year to September 2018.
Other types of crime which increased in the county last year included sexual offences.
The number of those rose from 1,848 in 2017 to 2,337 in 2018.
There were also 971 robberies in 2018 (up from 761 in 2017), while weapon possessions offences climbed from 671 to 763.
Public order offences climbed by 2,463 to 6,084 and drug offences were up by 277 to 1,750.
Criminal damage and arson crimes saw a jump of 844 to 10,340 in the year to September 2018.
Other types of crime saw fewer offences last year than in 2017, and the number of thefts fell from 37,982 to 37,443.
The situation in Leicestershire mirrors a national trend.
Across England and Wales the number of crimes rose from 4.7 million in 2017 to 5.1 million in 2018.
Chief Constable Bill Skelly, the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) lead for crime recording and Statistics, said: “There are real rises in serious crimes like robbery and violence with weapons, with a devastating impact on victims and families.
“The statistics show an increase in violent crime and those being in possession of an offensive weapon.
“These are things police forces are committed to tackling using many tactics like the Operation Sceptre national day of action on knife crime and our work with local NHS Trusts and A&E units which are showing success.
“We will continue to work with the Home Office and other partners to deal with growing violent crime because this is not something that can be solved by policing alone.”
Nick Hurd, minister of state for police and the fire service, said: “These statistics show that your chance of being a victim of crime remains low.
“But we accept certain crimes, particularly violent crime, have increased and we are doing everything possible to reverse the trend.
“We have listened to police’s concerns about rising demand and have proposed the biggest increase in police funding since 2010.
“I’m confident the new settlement, which delivers up to £970m of additional public investment into policing in 2019/20, will help the police continue to recruit more officers.
“We know it’s also crucial to stop crime happening in the first place.
“This is why our Government’s Serious Violence Strategy emphasises intervening early and is working to prevent young people from being drawn into a life of crime.”