Vertical Markets

Fraud rise in crime stats

by Mark Rowe

The police recorded 5.8 million crimes in England and Wales (not including Greater Manchester Police, due to IT ‘issues’) in the year ending September 2019. The largest single category by far is fraud, which at 3,797,000 offences according to the Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW), showed a 9pc rise. At a total of 441,351, police-recorded vehicle offences rose 4pc.

Helen Ross from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) Centre for Crime and Justice said: “In the last year there has been no change in overall levels of crime, however, this hides variations in different types of crime. For example, there have been continued rises in fraud, vehicle offences and robbery, and decreases in burglary and homicide.

“Although the number of offences involving a knife has continued to increase, there is a mixed picture across police forces and overall levels of violence remain steady. We have also seen the number of homicides where a knife or sharp instrument was used decrease by a fifth, driven by falls in London.”

There were 1.3 million incidents of violence estimated by CSEW for the year ending September 2019. This figure has not changed significantly since the year ending March 2015, continuing the relatively stable trend seen in recent years, says the ONS. Police recorded 617 homicides1 in England and Wales (not including Greater Manchester Police) in the year to September 2019, a 6pc fall (from 654) compared with the previous year. This includes a 7pc decrease (from 138 to 129) recorded by the Metropolitan Police.

For the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners (APCC), Kent PCC Matthew Scott said: “Crime data alone does not reflect the huge amount of work our police forces do where no crime has taken place – searching for missing people; attending serious collisions on our roads; prevention work in our schools; and dealing with people in mental health crisis, for example.

“Overall demand on our police officers and staff continues to grow and that is why ongoing investment is so important. The Government is funding a further 20,000 police officers and, following yesterday’s funding settlement, all PCCs are looking at their own force’s budgetary needs before presenting their 2020-21 precept proposals to their Police and Crime Panels.”

As for offences involving knives, while West Yorkshire saw a decrease of 8pc, West Midlands saw an increase of 17pc.

Comments

For Labour, Shadow Home Secretary Diane Abbott called the crime statistics a damning indictment of ten years of Tory neglect of policing and the effect of cuts. “The increase in the number of knife crime offences leaves them at an all-time high, and charge rates are at a low.

“It is far from clear that the government will meet its own target for recruiting extra officers. It is certain they will not address some of the underlying causes of crime because they don’t even intend to. This government cannot ensure the safety of our citizens is given the correct priority unless it changes course dramatically.”

West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner David Jamieson raised concerns about an increase in violent crime in the region. “That is why this month we have launched the Violence Reduction Unit (VRU) which is allowing us to scale up our response to violence.

“Some of the work the VRU will be leading on includes placing youth workers in A&E departments to help people who are caught up in a web of violence, putting experts in GP surgeries to help domestic violence victims, teaching pupils in schools about the dangers of carrying knives and a range of programmes designed to prevent prisoners re-offending after release.”

Mark Burns-Williamson, West Yorkshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner said: ““The Violence Reduction Unit (VRU) is now up and running and is using a public health model, bringing together our partners including police, local authorities, NHS, public health, voluntary sector, prisons, probation and education, to establish and embed a sustainable long-term approach to prevention, intervention and tackling violent crime and its underlying causes.”

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