Quarter of crimes in area are violent or sexual

MORE than a quarter of all recorded crimes in Hinckley fell into the category of violent or sexual offences according to police figures.

There were 851 crimes classified by Leicestershire Police as violent or sexual in the town between September last year and August this year. The crimes made up 25.59 per cent of all recorded crime in the town.

The violent and sexual offences reached their second highest peak during the 2018 Football World Cup which took place in June and July. In June there were 77 inci- dents and in were 89.

The highest peak was in March when there were 92 recorded violent and sexual crimes.

The next most common category of crime after violent and sexual offences was anti social behaviour. There were 500 incidents of anti social behaviour making up 15 per cent of all recorded crime.

Other common crimes were vehicle crime at 355 incidents during the year, criminal damage and arson at 321 crimes during the year, shoplifting at 255 crimes during the year and other kinds of theft at 359 crimes.

The least common crimes were robbery, theft July there and possession of weapons.

There are 80 per cent of crimes labelled no further action in which the investigation was ended without anyone sent to court or dealt with by police. There are eight per cent which are still being investigated. In the rest the offender was either dealt with by police of dealt with by the courts.

A Leicestershire Police spokesperson said: “We are aware that 25 per cent of crime reports recorded in Greater Hinckley and Hinckley Town – the two beat areas that make up the Greater Hinckley area - between September 2017 and August 2018 relate to ‘violence and sexual offences’.

“We are continuing to work closely with partner agencies to tackle and reduce crime across the two beat areas.

“Just over 6 per cent of those offences relate to sexual offences, which includes reports of any non-recent incidents too, as crimes are recorded by the force when they are reported to us and we would encourage any victim of a sexual offence to report it to us.

“We have specially trained officers who work with victims of sexual offences who will guide any victim through the process of reporting a crime and taking evidence.

“The remaining crimes relate to other offences involving violence, including incidents recorded as ‘violence without injury’ – such as harassment and sending letters with cause distress.

“While there may have been a spike in March and July – and a significant reduction in August - compared to other months across the 12-month period, we cannot attribute a rise in reports to a specific event, such as the World Cup or public holidays.

“The number of ‘violence with injury’ offences recorded between 1 April 2018 and 23 October 2018 stood at 229.

“This is a reduction from the 256 recorded between 1 April 2017 and 23 October 2017.

“All reports of crime are thoroughly assessed for investigative opportunities, which includes forensic evidence, any possible CCTV footage of crimes taking place and information from victims or witnesses. All of these will assist in identifying a sus- intent to pect, and increase the opportunity of securing a positive outcome.

“The public providing information can make a real difference in securing a positive outcome. The communities of Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland often assist police by identifying evidential opportunities that assist officers to identify who was responsible. Public information can help officers achieve the high standard of evidence required to gain a charging decision from the Crown Prosecution Service that leads to a prosecution.”

Contact the police on 101 or give the information anonymously through Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Information for victims and witnesses is available at https://leics.police.uk/ advice-and-information/ victims/witnesses.