Lincolnshire Police

Lincolnshire Police - Local Comment on the Annual Crime Figures 2000/2001 - issued by the Home Office

Today sees the publication of the recorded crime statistics for the twelve-month period to 31st March 2001. Between 1995/96 and 2000/2001, crime in Lincolnshire has been reduced by 20.2% against a national average fall over the same period of 11.7%.

The reduction was 2.8% on the previous year (1999/2000) slightly above the national average.

Deputy Chief Constable, Alan Goldsmith, said: "We are generally pleased with the figures. There is an overall reduction and that means 1,286 fewer victims of crime and all the trauma and inconvenience associated with it. The reduction in domestic burglary of 17.7% and the 3.2% reduction in incidents of violent crime are particularly pleasing.

"There are areas where we can improve, for example, the detection/clear-up rate has shown a slight fall from 28% to 25%, a trend that we will be aiming to reverse.

"Another concern is the 7.3% increase in incidents of robbery and although this is a numerical increase of just 13 offences across the County, we will be focusing on reducing them.

"Vehicle crime has decreased by 3.6% and we have recently launched our 'Car Crime Cracker' campaign to reduce this problem still further.

"We will continue to work with the County and District Councils and our other Crime and Disorder Reduction partners to reduce all types of crime over the short and long term.

"We do expect next year's figures to show an increase in recorded crime which will be directly attributable to a new method of recording crime which will be victim lead (known as 'prima facie' crime recording). In simple terms that means, if a member of the public feels that they have been the victim of criminal activity then a crime report will be recorded. This new more accurate recording method has been piloted in several other forces and should enable us to more accurately identify crime patterns and trends, leading to the more efficient allocation and direction of resources."

Miscellaneous Examples of Crime Figure Variations

Boston
Violence against the person down 4.7% (18 fewer victims)
Sexual offences up from 23 to 35 (12 additional victims)
Robbery up from 15 to 16 offences
Burglary dwelling down 46.1% (233 fewer victims)
Theft of motor vehicle down from 194 to 152 (-46%)

North Kesteven
Violence against the person down 5.4% (14 fewer victims)
Sexual offences up from 21 to 27 (+28.6%)
Robbery: no change (6 victims total)
Burglary dwelling down 27.5% (87 fewer victims)
Theft of motor vehicle up from 126 to 133 (+5.6%)

East Lindsey
Violence against the person up 3.1% (26 additional victims)
Sexual offences down from 97 to 61 (36 fewer victims)
Robbery down from 30 to 27 offences (-10%)
Burglary dwelling down 3.6% (25 fewer victims)
Theft of motor vehicle down from 398 to 343 (-13.8%)

South Holland
Violence against the person up 7.9% (18 additional victims)
Sexual offences up from 30 to 33 (+13.3%)
Robbery up from 7 to 12 offences (5 additional victims)
Burglary dwelling down 23.1% (58 fewer victims)
Theft of motor vehicle down from 238 to 215 (-9.7%)

South Kesteven
Violence against the person up 5.8% (26 additional victims)
Sexual offences down from 57 to 45 (12 fewer victims)
Robbery down from 27 to 26 offences
Burglary dwelling down 4.2% (33 fewer victims)
Theft of motor vehicle down from 415 to 365 (-12%)

Lincoln
Violence against the person down 11.9% (139 fewer victims)
Sexual offences down from 67 to 52 (15 fewer victims)
Robbery up from 76 to 77 offences
Burglary dwelling down 13% (181 fewer victims)
Theft of motor vehicle down from 431 to 385 (-10.7%)

West Lindsey
Violence against the person down 8.1% (31 fewer victims)
Sexual offences down from 30 to 27 (3 fewer victims)
Robbery up from 17 to 27 offences
Burglary dwelling down 29.5% (204 fewer victims)
Theft of motor vehicle up from 196 to 204 (+4.1%)

Lincolnshire sees drop in recorded crime

Home Office Press Release

Lincolnshire Police have seen a drop in recorded crime for the second year running, according to the figures published today by the Home Office Research, Development and Statistics Directorate.

Following a fall in the county's crime of 1.1 per cent last year, there were 44,884 crimes recorded in Lincolnshire in the 12 months to March 2001 - meaning the county has seen an overall drop in crime of 2.8%.

The county police force has also seen a reversal of the national trend in violent crime - while most forces recorded a rise, seeing a nationwide average rise of 3.4% - Lincolnshire has seen a drop of 3.2%. On top of this, burglary has dropped by a massive 17.7% and vehicle crime has fallen by 3.6% as well.

However there has been a rise in the number of robberies, reflecting the national trend, but robberies are only up by 7.3% in Lincolnshire, compared to 12.9% nationally.

Key findings for East Midlands Region in Recorded Crime Statistics England and Wales 12 Months to March 2001, were:

	The police recorded 409,608 offences in the 12 months to March 2001, a fall of 3.5 per cent over the previous 12 months. There were falls in four of the five police forces in the East Midlands. The only rise was a small one of 2.2% per cent in Nottinghamshire.
	The number of robberies has gone up since the previous year in the region, rising by 16.1 per cent (four per cent more than the national average). Violence against the person was down 0.3 per cent.
	Burglary and vehicle crime both fell at a faster rate than the previous year. Burglary fell by 10.1 per cent. Thefts of and from vehicles fell by 6.5 per cent.

Home Secretary, David Blunkett said: "The police in East Midlands Region recorded 409,608 offences in the 12 months to March 2001, a fall of 3.5 per cent over the previous 12 months. These figures show the continued success of targeted and effective action against crime. They are the result of excellent work by the police, local councils, community groups and others.

"There are no quick wins on crime - it is a long-term investment. We have had real success with burglary and car crime but this was hard earned. Burglary has fallen by 10.1 per cent and thefts by and from vehicles by 6.5 per cent. These are significant continued falls and mean that we are now on track to meet our demanding national targets for reduction of both burglary and vehicle crime.

"The continued rise in the rate of violent crime is a concern. However, we are beginning to see some encouraging signs that our efforts to deal with violent crime are turning the corner and slowing the rate of growth, which is now less than half of the increase for the previous 12 months. But it is still early days and there is much more to do.

"We have set a new target of 130,000 officers within the lifetime of this Parliament. This would create the largest ever police force in England and Wales. But fighting crime is more complicated than just numbers. We cannot expect the police alone to tackle the problems of crime and disorder in society. Everyone has a part to play in rejecting crime and reporting offenders."

Home Office Crime Reduction Director for East Midlands Region, Stephen Brookes, said: "We need to do more to find out what works in terms of cutting crimes of violence, in particular street robbery. We must bring everyone up to the standards of the best. The Home Secretary's proposals for a national police standards unit will specifically address this issue.

"The key to achieving safer communities is to build stronger communities. We will do everything that we can to continue to mobilise our communities in the fight to tackle crime, to make our neighbourhoods safer and to reclaim our streets.

"More consistent recording of offences and greater use of British Crime Survey findings will give a more accurate picture of crime in England & Wales. The new ACPO national crime reporting standard will lead to an increase in the numbers of crimes recorded by police, but it is important that we have robust and reliable crime statistics in order to drive performance and change. The British Crime Survey accurately records crime as experienced by the public, whether they report it to police or not. Police crime figures record police activity as much as crime itself."

The police forces covered by the East Midlands Region are Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire and Nottinghamshire.

Region/force - 12 Months to March 01	Violence against the person		Robbery		Burglary dwelling		Theft of and from vehicles		All crime
	Total	% change on previous year	Total	% change on previous year	Total	% change on previous year	Total	% change on previous year	Total	% change on previous year
England and Wales	600,873	3.4	95,154	12.9	402,984	-9.0	968,447	-7.2	5,170,831	-2.5
East Midlands	43,645	-0.3	4685	16.1	32711	-10.1	75613	-6.5	409608	-3.5
Derbyshire	9,236	-7.8	773	32.4	6157	-4.2	15737	-13.2	81668	-4.6
Leicestershire	10,684	-4.2	1067	4.3	6800	-12.9	16200	-14.5	86422	-8.6
Lincolnshire	3,743	-3.2	191	7.3	3805	-17.7	6627	-3.6	44884	-2.8
Northamptonshire	5,176	0.9	604	25.6	3689	-24.8	11440	-6.7	56731	-7.4
Nottinghamshire	14,806	8.6	2050	16.0	12260	-2.8	25609	3.6	139903	2.2