Burglaries of homes on the Isle of Wight have more than doubled, according to the latest police-recorded crime figures.
There were 348 household break-ins during 2017, data from the Office for National Statistics shows. That is up by 124.5% on the previous year, when 155 incidents were recorded.
Unreported offences
The statistics are based on crimes reported to the police, and the ONS urges caution in interpreting some of these figures.
Some offences go unreported while others may be more numerous due to a change in the focus of the police or greater public attention.
ONS: “A genuine rise in burglary”
However it did say there appears to be a genuine rise in burglary as it is a crime that’s “relatively well-reported by the public and relatively well-recorded by the police”.
ONS statistician Alexa Bradley commented:
“The figures show that, for most types of offence, the picture of crime has been fairly stable, with levels much lower than the peak seen in the mid-1990s.
“However, we have seen evidence that increases in some types of theft have continued, in particular vehicle-related theft and burglary.”
Emerging trends
Gun and knife possession offences on the Isle of Wight have risen by 14 to 112 incidents.
Ms Bradley said:
“We have seen an increase in the relatively rare, but ‘high-harm’ violent offences such as homicide, knife crime and gun crime, a trend that has been emerging over the previous two years.”
Across England and Wales there was a 22% increase in offences with knives or sharp objects and an 11% rise in firearms offences.
There have been two homicides, the term used for murder or manslaughter.
Crime rates lower than average in England and Wales
Overall police-recorded crime on the Isle of Wight increased in 2017.
During that period 10,422 crimes were recorded, up by 11% on 2016.
That means that 75 out of every 1,000 residents experienced a crime during 2017, slightly below the England and Wales average of 81.
Drop in theft and drug offences
Theft, one of the most high volume crimes, has decreased by 16%. Drugs related offences dropped by 21.2%.
Chief Constable Bill Skelly, of the National Police Chiefs’ Council, said:
“In the last year policing has been under strain as traditional crimes are committed in new and more sophisticated ways, the terror threat has grown and there’s a need to safeguard an increasing number of vulnerable people.
“Police data shows that violent crime and the associated homicides, car crime and theft are all increasing significantly.
“These rises are genuine and deeply concerning but the public should be assured we are doing everything we can to bring them down and keep the public safe.”
Police alone can’t tackle it
Mr Skelly said that tackling violent crime isn’t something the police can do alone.
He explained,
“Officers continue to employ stop and search to seize knives and weapons and we work closely with schools to educate young people about the dangers of carrying a knife and stop them from turning to a life of crime.”
Rise in criminal damage and violence
Criminal damage, which includes arson and vandalising cars and houses, has gone up, from 1,360 incidents in 2016, to 1,371 in the latest figures.
While violence with injury, which includes assault, GBH and wounding, has risen, this could just be due to improved police recording as opposed to an increase in incidents.
IW rise in sexual crimes
Similarly sexual crime statistics are hard to judge as many more victims are now coming forward due to a series of high profile cases.
On the Isle of Wight there were 457 incidents recorded in 2017, an 18% rise on the previous year, when 388 crimes were reported.
ONS: Say hard to reliably interpret these figures
The ONS report said that given the factors, which include victims of historical sexual abuse coming forward to report old crimes and an improvement in police reporting, it is hard to reliably interpret these figures.
Police and Fire Service Minister Nick Hurd said the ONS “is clear that overall levels crime are stable, with traditional crime over a third lower than it was in 2010”.
He continued,
“It is also welcome that the polices recording of crime is improving, and that more victims of domestic abuse and sexual violence are feeling empowered to come forward.”
Government taking “urgent action”
But Mr Hurd acknowledged that some of the increases “in police-recorded violent offences are genuine”.
He said the government has taken “urgent action” to stop these crimes.
The minister added:
“We will be announcing tough new laws to crack down on acid attacks and knife offences.
“And as crime changes, we will change our response – our Serious Violence Strategy places a new emphasis on steering young people away from a life of crime, while continuing to promote the strongest possible law enforcement response.”
Article shared by Data Reporter Ralph Blackburn as part of the OnTheWight’s collaboration with Press Association and Urbs Media
Image: westmidlandspolice under CC BY 2.0
