Recorded crime in Flintshire falls by nearly 1.5% in 2014

Figures released by the Office of National Statistics (ONS) show recorded crime in Flintshire has fallen by 1.47%  

North Wales Police recorded 7017 crimes in Flintshire during the twelve months to December 2014, 105 fewer than the previous year.

The overall level of recorded crime in North Wales fell by 0.2% last year and while figures in Flintshire appear to be even better than those regionally there are a few notable increases in individual crime categories. 

The number of people caught in possession of weapons has increased nearly 116% up to 41 from 19 in 2013.

Robbery has increased from 17 offences to 28, there has been  130 more instances of shoplifting recorded in 2014 versus 2013 and theft from the person has increased by 5.

Recorded Crimes In Flintshire in the 12 Months to December 2104

Reported sexual offences have once again risen in Flintshire with 26 more recorded in 2014 than in the previous year.

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 within police forces is also be a factor.

Across England ans Wales the total sexual offences rose by 32% with the numbers of rapes (26,703) and other sexual offences (53,559) being at the highest level ever recorded since the introduction of the National Crime Recording Standard (NCRS) in 2002/03.

Assistant Chief Constable Richard Debicki said:

“I am pleased that crime has fallen again this year in North Wales. This reduction, whilst modest, follows significant crime reductions over a number of years across the region.

“It’s important to recognise that this has been achieved against a backdrop of a continuing need to make financial savings and increased demands from non-crime related issues. We are also investing in emerging areas such as online child sexual abuse and cyber-crime.

“The public within North Wales are reporting, when asked in surveys, that they are more confident in the policing here, which is a positive reflection on the force.”

As an example, the latest figures from the national Crime Survey reveal that more people have confidence in North Wales Police and that the force’s understanding of community issues has improved significantly.

“Satisfaction in the service provided is also increasing, and we are placing a big emphasis on our staff delivering the highest quality of service. That personal service and care is so important to the public, and we are striving to be the best that we can be as an organisation”.

Also published today are the latest figures from the Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) which showed that, for the offences it covers, there were an estimated 6.9 million incidents of crime against households and resident adults (aged 16 and over) in England and Wales.

This is a 7% decrease compared with the previous year’s survey, and the lowest estimate since the CSEW began in 1981.

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

While the estimate of all CSEW crime was lower than the previous year, the apparent falls seen in most individual crime types were not statistically significant compared with the previous year.

The only major category to show a statistically significant fall was theft offences which decreased by 7%. 

In contrast to the CSEW, there was a 2% increase in police recorded crime compared with the previous year, with 3.8 million offences recorded in the year ending December 2014.

The renewed focus on the quality of crime recording is thought to have led to improved compliance with national recording standards, leading to proportionally more crimes reported to the police being recorded by them.