Sex crimes still on the increase in North Wales, while overall crime figures fall by 3%

Crime in North Wales according to those figures recorded by the Police fell again in the 12 months to March 2014.

Overall the number of crimes recorded by North Wales Police (excluding fraud) fell by 3.0% with 1096 fewer crimes committed than the previous year. 

The greatest shift was in Public order offences which dropped by 19% while recorded cycle thefts fell by 11%

Shoplifting offences increased by 9.35% and the number of recorded sexual offences increased by 8.37% 

Across England and Wales there were around 3.7 million offences recorded by Police forces in the year to March 2014, a similar number to the previous year.

The Crime Survey of England and Wales (CSEW) also published figures today for the year ending March 2014 – they estimate there were 7.3 million incidents of crime in England and Wales, this represents a 14% decrease compared to the same period last year. 

The CSEW covers a broad range of victim based crimes and includes crimes which do not come to the attention of the police.

Decreases were evident for most major crime types compared with the previous year; violence saw a 20% fall, criminal damage fell by 17%, and theft offences decreased by 10%.

Sex Offences in Wales 

Sexual offences in North Wales continue on an upward trend with 906 sex crimes recorded in the last year by Police, 8.37% more than the previous year and over 300 more than were reported in 2010 

The rise is partly attributed to the effect high profile cases such as Operation Pallial, the investigation into historic child abuse in North Wales care homes and the Operation Yewtree investigation, connected to the Jimmy Savile inquiry, whereby more victims are coming forward to report offences to the police.

Improved compliance with the recording standards for sexual offences in some police forces may also be a factor.

Assistant Chief Constable Richard Debicki said:

“The Force has maintained its strong performance, with crime falling in North Wales between April 2013 and March 2014 – once again fewer people have been victims of crime. We recognise the negative impact that crime has upon our communities and individual victims, and so continuing overall crime reductions are very positive. Our police officers and staff continue to work extremely hard alongside the community and partners in order to drive down crime further. These crime statistics are far more than being simply about numbers, because, of course, every crime has a victim, and less crime equals less victims in our communities. Where crimes do occur we work incredibly hard to solve them and bring offenders to justice, and get the right outcome for victims.

“Whilst these crime reductions are positive with overall crime heading in the right direction, we will never be complacent. We recognise that there is still work to be done and tackling violence of any kind is a priority. There are also a number of initiatives underway across the Force to address shoplifting and burglaries. The reporting of recent high profile sexual offence cases has led to a nationwide increase in the number of people having the confidence to come forward and report sexual abuse. The figures demonstrate that victims of sexual offences have more confidence in coming to the police, which is very positive.”