North Yorkshire remains the safest place in the country despite rise in recorded crime

According to the latest figures, from the Office of National Statistics', North Yorkshire remains the lowest crime area in England and Wales.
The results were revealed today from the Office of National StatisticsThe results were revealed today from the Office of National Statistics
The results were revealed today from the Office of National Statistics

The result was confirmed today for the year ending June 2018, despite a 9% rise in recorded offences.

During the 12 month period, a total of 40,782 crimes were recorded resulting in a crime rate of 49.7 per 1,000 of the population.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The county’s overall crime rate of 49.7 per 1,000 of the population is the lowest nationally, and is significantly lower than the average of 84.7 per 1,000 across England and Wales.

This 9% local increase is below the national average crime increase of 10%.

Figures show the crimes that increased were violence and against the person, drug offences, possession of weapons offences, robbery, theft offences, shoplifting, all other theft offences, criminal damage and arson, vehicle offences, sexual offences and public order offences.

Crimes categories in North Yorkshire that decreased were burglary, theft from the person, bicycle theft and miscellaneous crimes against society, which includes the possession and publication of extreme sexual images.

See below for full list of crimes and total numbers.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Chief Constable Lisa Winward said: “Today’s figures show North Yorkshire remains the lowest crime area in England and Wales. There has been an increase in recorded offences, but this is also slightly lower than the national average.

“Here in North Yorkshire we’ve been looking closely at how we record crime and have recently introduced a range of new measures to ensure we are detecting and investigating offences more effectively.

"This work is ongoing, and while it will naturally influence the county’s crime levels, it is the right thing to do to ensure victims continue to feel confident about reporting offences to us.”

Julia Mulligan, North Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner, said: “I welcome confirmation that North Yorkshire remains the safest place in the country, with a crime rate of 49.7 per 1,000 of the population compared to 84.7 per 1,000 across England and Wales. However, these figures show an increase in recorded crime year-on-year and I know that will concern many people.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“While any rise gives cause concern, I want to also set out that we are currently going through a process of ensuring all crimes that do take place are properly recorded – by ensuring the police log every offence in the right way, as well as complying with national changes which require more crime to be recorded.

"I know this will lead to an increase in recorded crime, and I want to be clear that I expect that figure to continue to rise as we go through this vital process.

“I want to reassure residents that, in many cases, we are not seeing more crime, we are just becoming better at recording it.

"Transparency and integrity are central to how we do things in North Yorkshire and it is crucial the police get this right so we have statistics we can rely on.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

"I will be holding the Chief Constable to account to that end. So, whilst this might be a difficult process, it will help the police tackle crime and ensure resources are allocated appropriately in the future.”

Figures show crime rate by crime category:

Violence and against the person increased by 20% (11,811 crimes in total), which is broken down into Violence with Injury (5,112 crimes in total, a 10% increase); Violence without Injury category (4,821 crimes in total, a 22% increase); Harassment and Stalking (1,849 crimes in total, a 47% increase)

Burglary decreased by 1% (3,658 crimes in total)

Drug offences increased by 6% (1,592 crimes in total)

Possession of weapons offences up by 22% (247 crimes in total)

Robbery increased by 14% (183 crimes in total)

Theft offences increased by 4% (16,822 crimes in total)

Theft from the person down by 1% (444 crimes in total)

Bicycle theft reduced by 12% (1,095 crimes in total)

Shoplifting increased by 11% (4,686 crimes in total)

All other theft offences up by 2% (4,466 crimes in total)

Criminal damage and arson up by 3% (5,934 crimes in total)

Vehicle Offences were up 15% with 2,473 crimes in total

Sexual offences increased by 13% (1,649 crimes in total). As previously highlighted, this rise is regarded as a reflection of the confidence victims have in North Yorkshire Police, particularly those making historical complaints in the wake of high profile historical sexual abuse cases, plus support from dedicated facilities for victims of sexual assault

Public order offences up by 18% (1,774 crimes in total)

Miscellaneous crimes against society, which includes the possession and publication of extreme sexual images, fell by 2% with 743 crimes in total.