13% rise in crime recorded by West Mercia Police

Violent crime in the region has jumped by more than a third, according to official statistics.

West Mercia Police today defended its record, saying the figures show that its officers have got better at recording crime.

It says the figures do not necessarily mean significantly more offences are actually being committed.

The figures, from the Government's Office of National Statistics, show:

• There were 73,429 crimes recorded in the West Mercia area from July 2015 up to June this year.

• Nearly one in three of the crimes reported were for violence – with the figure of 23,502 representing a 36 per cent rise.

• There were 2,794 sexual offences recorded, a rise of 20 per cent, and 482 robberies, 16 per cent up on the year before.

Today's figures also show a rise in recorded crime in the Dyfed-Powys Police force area, with the ONS saying the total 21,348 figure represented a nine per cent rise on the year before it.

There were 6,245 violent crimes reported in Dyfed-Powys, up 27 per cent, while sexual offences were up 14 per cent.

An alternative crime count, called the National Crime Survey for England and Wales, also published its results today.

The survey speaks to a spectrum of people across the country and asks if they have been the victims of crime.

John Flatley, of the ONS, said: "We think the rise in the police recorded crime figures is due to a combination of factors.

"First, the expansion of the police series to cover new harassment offences. Second, a greater proportion of incidents reported to the police being recorded as crimes.

"At the same time, the crime survey has shown a greater proportion of victims of violent crime reporting to the police.

"Finally, it appears there has been a small but genuine increase in some categories of violent crime."