Violent crime resulting in injury in Warwickshire dropped by 23 per cent in the 12 months to the end of September 2009 with 2,682 incidents being reported to Warwickshire Police, 802 fewer than the same period the previous year.

The drop is the greatest decrease recorded by any police force in the country and is compared to a national average decrease of violent crime of four per cent, crime figures released by the Home Office today (Thursday 21 January) show.

Speaking about the significant decrease Deputy Chief Constable Andy Parker said,

“Closer partnership working in town centres, increased levels of resourcing on busy nights, high profile joint emergency service operations and closer working with bar managers and licensees have all helped to reduce the levels of violence in Warwickshire.”

“We are also pleased to report that the decrease in violence is continuing, and over Christmas and New Year there were significantly fewer incidents of violence reported compared to last year. More recently we have had ten consecutive days in January when there have been no reports of any serious injury violence across the whole force."

In the 12 months to September 2009 Warwickshire Police also achieved a 16 per cent drop in robberies taking place within the county with 298 robberies reported , or 57 fewer incidents, reported to the police. The national figure for robbery saw a decrease of three per cent.

Incidents of criminal damage being reported, which is seen as an indicator for the level of anti social behaviour, also saw a drop of 15 per cent in Warwickshire, or 7,465 incidents reported compared to 8,737 in the previous 12 months.

British Crime Survey figures, also for the 12 month period ending September 2009, show an increasing level of public confidence in the work of police and partners to tackle crime and anti social behaviour in Warwickshire with 47.5% of the population expressing their confidence, a rise of more than four per cent on the previous year. Chief Superintendent Richard Sear, Deputy Director for Performance and Standards said, “Crime is down significantly and confidence levels are rising. There has been some great work by local councils, wider partners and the police which are achieving success in resolving local issues and driving crime down.

“We are determined to build on this, delivering high quality policing services and working with partners to resolve local issues effectively. “

The crime statistics also show that car crime also decreased, by three per cent during the 12 month period. This was lower than the national average decrease of 14 per cent, but Warwickshire Police is confident that sufficient measures have now been put in place to ensure that car crime will continue to decrease.

Continuing the positive news sexual offences recorded an increase of nine per cent equating to 428 incidents being reported to police in Warwickshire compared to 392 in the preceding 12 months. The national average for reporting sexual offences saw a decrease of one per cent.

“We welcome an increase in the number of sexual offences being reported, explained Andy Parker, “We know that for many years these crimes were under reported but due to increased confidence in the police we now see the number of reports increasing. These figures do not reflect an increase in the number of incidents, but show more accurately the level of sexual crime which is taking place. If we are to protect the public from harm we need victims to report these crimes.

House burglary in Warwickshire saw a three per cent increase in the 12 months to September 2009 compared to the previous year at a time when nationally the burglary rate has stood still. The numbers of house burglaries are very low in Warwickshire, with about six crimes a day across the whole of the County.

Identifying that there had been a slight increase in domestic burglary, a number of successful operations have been initiated based on the targeting of repeat offenders and those who cause the highest harm within the community. Priority Policing Areas have been identified where higher levels of crime are recorded, and additional resources have been allocated to tackle emerging crime trends.

DCC Parker explained that everyone involved in delivering Safer Communities should be proud of these achievements, overall crime continues to fall in Warwickshire with significant reductions in violence and increasing public confidence. Warwickshire Police and their partners are determined to reduce crime further and provide the maximum protection possible to our communities.

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