Commissioner responds to crime statistics

Julia Mulligan, elected Police and Crime Commissioner for North Yorkshire, said:

“It’s good that North Yorkshire is bucking the national trend, and I thank the police for their hard work. However, there are some issues behind the numbers released today, in particular domestic burglary, which the public have as a top priority. It is absolutely right that the police focus on protecting vulnerable people and serious crimes, but we do need to ensure issues such as burglary remain a priority, changes in recording notwithstanding. For example, I recently conducted a ‘deep dive’ into how North Yorkshire Police responds to burglary, which revealed some good work but also areas for improvement, which I am pursuing with the Chief Constable.

“It is also reassuring to see a number of offences reducing, such as drug crime and theft. With drugs in particular, there has been a great deal of good work done and progress made.

“And finally, I would like to thank the officers and staff of North Yorkshire Police who work so hard to keep us safe. There are challenges but I have every confidence that they are taken seriously and will be tackled effectively.”

Broken down into the main crime categories, the ONS figures for North Yorkshire show:

• Burglary reduced by 7% (3,616 crimes in total, of which 1,755 are recorded as domestic burglaries (a 19% increase) and 1,861 non-domestic burglaries (a 22% decrease)
• Drug offences decreased by 11% (1,482 crimes in total)
• Violence and against the person increased by 8% (10,091 crimes in total), which is broken down into Violence with Injury (4,695 crimes in total, a 3% increase); Violence without Injury category (4,080 crimes in total, a 13% increase); Harassment and Stalking (1,302 crimes in total, a 14% increase)
• Possession of weapons offences up by 7% (219 crimes in total)

• Robbery increased by 19% (165 crimes in total)
• Theft offences down by 5% (16,076 crimes in total)

• Theft from the person down by 19% (409 crimes in total)
• Bicycle theft reduced by 19% (1,176 crimes in total)
• Shoplifting increased by 7% (4,421 crimes in total)
• All other theft offences down 6% (4,300 crimes in total)
• Criminal damage and arson up by 2% (5,873 crimes in total)
• Vehicle Offences reduced by 9% (2,154 crimes in total)
• Sexual offences increased by 11% (1,463 crimes in total). As previously highlighted, this rise is regarded as a positive 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 9% (1,447 crimes in total)
• Miscellaneous crimes against society, which includes the possession and publication of extreme sexual images, increased by 19% with 757 crimes in total

For more information about the latest crime figures, please go to the Office of National Statistics website: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/datasets/policeforceareadatatables