Families are paying a high cost for crime in Shropshire, new figures reveal today.

They show the economic and social costs of crime amounted to more than £262 million in the West Mercia police force area last year, which, serving a population of more than one million, equates to a cost of £222 per person.

This includes the price of taking criminals to court and insurance claims by victims.

The data, obtained and released by the Taxpayers’ Alliance in league tables, details the cost of recorded crime per person in each police force area in England, Wales and Northern Ireland in 2007.

The pressure group has compared the number of different crimes in each force area with Home Office estimates of the cost of each type of crime to produce a picture of the financial impact of offending.

The biggest bill facing individuals in the county is for violent crimes committed against a person, at a cost of £122 per person – with the second highest sum for sexual offences, at a cost of £29 per person.

Nationally, recorded crime in England, Wales and Northern Ireland cost almost £15 billion in 2007 – the equivalent to nearly £275 for every person.

Violence against a person – including murder and serious assault – was responsible for the highest economic and social costs, at around £155 per person.

Matthew Sinclair, policy analyst at the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: “Every one of us pays a steep price for high crime rates, particularly those living in urban areas.

“Whether we have been victims of crime, are afraid to go out at night or are just paying ever more to protect and insure ourselves and our property, crime has significant economic, emotional and social costs for us all. The problem is that politicians in Whitehall insist on micro-managing the police.

“If the Government gave people the information and the power to tailor their local police force to their local needs, we will be able to drive crime levels down and improve lives,” he added.

A Home Office spokesman said: “There is a continuing cost associated with crime, and a need to seek new ways to reduce it. That is why the Home Office, other departments and agencies continue to develop new crime reduction strategies, targets and policies.”

WHAT WE ARE PAYING FOR

 The cost of crime per person, per category in the Shropshire police force area:

• Violence against a person: £122.21
• Common assault: £4.45
• Sexual offences: £29.16
• Robbery/mugging: £3.09
• Burglary (in a dwelling): £11.19
• Theft (not from a shop): £17.69
• Criminal damage: £15.50
• Burglary (not in a dwelling): £17.78
• Theft from a shop: £0.59
• Robbery/till snatch (of business property): £0.40
• TOTAL: £222.06 (Number 34 in the league table)

By Sunita Patel