Violent crime, robbery and sex offences on the up in South Yorkshire

Police chiefs recorded an increase in violent crime, sex offences, robbery and possession of weapons last year, new figures reveal.
New crime figures have been releasedNew crime figures have been released
New crime figures have been released

Figures released today by the Office of National Statistics show that last year there were 21,320 offences of violence recorded by South Yorkshire Police between June 2015 and June 2016 compared to 16,662

Sex offences went up from 2,780 to 3,135; vehicle crime went up from 10,509 offences to 11,985 and there were 1,074 robberies - up from 1,022 last year.

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A total of 767 possession of weapon offences were recorded last year compared to 692 the previous year and shoplifting went up from 10,637 offences to 10,989.

There was a reduction in drug offences, with 2,557 crime recorded compared to 3,146 last year and house burglaries fell from 6,655 to 6,175 offences.

Temporary Assistant Chief Constable, Jason Harwin, said there was 'still work to do' to make South Yorkshire safer but pointed out that although there have been increases in some types of offending, there have been reductions in others.

He pointed out that South Yorkshire's figures are one per cent below the national average for the number of sex offences reported by forces, three per cent below for theft offences, one per cent below for shoplifting and five per cent below for possession of offensive weapons.

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“We are committed to continue to work with communities to reduce the changes of individuals being a victim of crime and make South Yorkshire a safer place," he said.

“It is pleasing to see our efforts to reduce the number of victims whose homes have been broken into is working, particularly as this is a crime that is seen as a priority for communities.

“We recognise there’s still much work to do, in ensuring South Yorkshire is a safer place to live, work or visitor and we will continue to work with communities and other crime fighting partners to achieve this.”