County ‘is one of safest despite rise in crimes’

Theft, burglary, violence and robbery on the up in North Yorks

Crime levels in North Yorkshire rose by 5% in 2017, new figures have revealed.

The Office of National Statistics’ “Crime in England and Wales, year ending December 2017” bulletin, shows there were a total of 38,478 crimes in North Yorkshire during the 12-month period, giving a crime rate of 47.1 per 1,000 of the population.

North Yorkshire’s 5% increase is one of the smallest recorded among all forces in England and Wales.

Broken down into the main crime categories, the 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 nondomestic burglaries

• Drug offences decreased by 4% (1,494 crimes in total)

• Violence against the person increased by 10% (10,368 crimes), which is broken down into violence with injury (4,791 crimes, a 4% increase); violence without injury (4,251 crimes, a 17% increase); harassment and stalking (1,308 crimes, 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)

• Theft from the person down by 19% (398 crimes)

• Bicycle theft reduced by 15% (1,193 crimes)

• Shoplifting increased by 14% (4,638 crimes)

• All other theft offences up by 1% (4,386 crimes)

• Criminal damage and arson up by 2% (5,894 crimes)

• Vehicle offences stayed the same with 2,250 crimes

There were a total of 38,478 crimes in North Yorkshire in 2017

• Sexual offences increased by 15% (1,546 crimes). A police spokesperson said the rise “is regarded as a positive reflection of the confidence victims have in North Yorkshire Police, particularly those making historical complaints”.

• Public order offences up by 4% (1,413 crimes)

• Miscellaneous crimes against society, which includes the possession and publication of extreme sexual images, increased by 20% with 763 crimes.

Julia Mulligan, 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 officers, staff and volunteers for the hard work involved in keeping us safe.

Assistant Chief Constable Amanda Oliver added :“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 lowcrime 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 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.”