Telford drops to third in sex crime table

It has now dropped to third in the national table, according to the latest Government data.

New figures released by the Office of National Statistics, which work on the size of the population, do show a rise in offences but Telford & Wrekin Council said this could be down to a greater awareness of these crimes and increased willingness to report them to police.

Russell Griffin, spokesman for Telford & Wrekin Council, said: "We are aware of the new figures that have been published by the Office for National Statistics relating to recorded sexual offences against children.

"Firstly it is important to note that these figures refer to all sexual offences against children and not specifically those that relate to child sexual exploitation.

"We completely acknowledge that one crime is one crime too many and the safety and welfare of the borough's young is our top priority.

"However, that said, high numbers of recorded crime is not necessarily a bad thing as it demonstrates increased awareness among our community and consequently higher levels of reporting of crime.

"It is better for ourselves and the police to be aware of what crimes are being committed rather than offences taking place and the perpetrators then escaping justice through a lack of reporting.

"We announced before Christmas that we have recruited to three new posts in our child sexual exploitation team to enable it be even more involved in educating and raising awareness of the issue.

"This investment has been made despite the council having to make unprecedented cuts as our Government grant continues to reduce."

The figures take into account the period to October 2015 to September 2016 and are higher than the previous year, and more than twice the national average.