Crime falls again in Cumbria

The Home Office today issued its quarterly crime report revealing that overall crime has fallen once again in Cumbria, after police recorded 9 per cent less crimes between June 2009 and June 2010 compared to the previous financial year.

The report released today is produced by the Home Office and discusses the latest crime trends in England and Wales. The report is based on two sources of statistics, the British Crime Survey (BCS) and police recorded crime data.

It reveals that Cumbria Constabulary recorded some of the lowest numbers of crimes in England, with only the City of London police recording fewer incidents.

The findings of the British Crime Survey also show that Cumbrian communities have the highest levels of confidence in their police force for dealing with local concerns, with 64 per cent agreeing that police do a good or excellent job.

Cumbria ranks as the safest area in England and Wales for burglary and robbery, despite a slight increase in robberies around the county. Between June 2009 and June 2010, there were 15 per cent less burglaries and 54 offences of robbery across Cumbria – an increase of six per cent.

Chief Constable Craig Mackey said: “These figures show that yet again, crime has fallen in Cumbria which proves that our county really is one of the safest places in the UK.

“The consistent reduction in crime across our county reflects the commitment that each and every police officer and member of staff has in serving their communities in Cumbria.

“The Constabulary is dedicated to tackling issues at a very local level so that police officers can take positive action to address the problems that are most affecting people’s lives. It is encouraging to see that this hard work is paying off with 64 per cent of local residents agreeing that we are dealing with local concerns effectively and 54 per cent agreeing that we work well with partners to tackle issues that communities highlight as problems.

“In Cumbria, fewer people perceive anti-social behaviour to be a problem when compared to the national picture. Ten per cent of communities claim that anti-social behaviour is a problem in their area compared to the national average of 14 per cent. We know the negative effects that anti-social behaviour can have on our neighbourhoods so it will continue to be one of our main priorities so that we can reduce this figure even further.

“It is always disappointing to learn that specific types of crime are on the rise – especially violent incidents like robbery. Despite ranking as the top force in the country for the lowest number of robberies this year, incidents have increased by six per cent which means that 54 people have suffered the distress and turmoil of being a victim.

“We have also seen an increase in the number of sexual offences that are reported to us. This can be worrying, but also encouraging as one of the major hurdles that victims face is working up the courage to report incidents to police. We have worked hard over recent years to ensure we have the people and facilities available to support victims and investigate sexual offences and believe that the increase is partly due to the improved confidence victims now have in us, and the positive work that goes on in our dedicated Public Protection Units to identify victims and help them to bring offenders to justice.

“We will focus on these two areas of work over the coming year to ensure that we protect victims and pursue offenders so that we can continue to drive down crime in Cumbria.”