Wiltshire Police deal with 'ongoing challenge' as crime rates jump

Weapons like knives are a 'growing cause of concern' for Wiltshire Police, as stats say offences involving them have jumped nearly 30 per cent in a year.

The Office For National Statistics have released new figures showing crime on the rise, by about 10 per cent in all in the year ending last March.

The ONS report - called 'Crime in England and Wales, year ending December 2022' show that Wiltshire Police saw increases in a broad range of serious crime types over those past 12 months, including sexual offences and violent offences.

Worryingly, this is in line with forces across the country, too.

Here in Wiltshire, the south west policing area with the lowest overall crime rate per head of population, the force saw recorded theft with a 21% increase - while offences involving the possession of a weapon saw a 27% hike.

However, according to the published stats, reported drug offences showed a 7% decrease on the previous year.

Overall, their 10% increase in total crime in the period ending March 2022 was slightly lower than the 11% increase across the rest of the south west.

The current Wiltshire crime rate is 58.6 people per 1,000.

The ONS report notes that coronavirus restrictions have had a significant impact on recorded crime.

"Significant ongoing challenge"

Assistant Chief Constable Deb Smith said: “These statistics point to the significant ongoing challenge facing Wiltshire Police - which reflects the national picture.

“We are targeting significant resources to meet this challenge with renewed sense of focus and direction - specifically meeting the operational priorities set out by our new Chief Constable around protecting public spaces, tackling violence and burglary.

“We hope to see this activity reflected in future reports.

“It is gratifying to note that the latest set of statistics indicate a decrease in the number of drug offences which reflect our determination to tackle the root causes of criminality in our communities which fuel many forms of offending.

“Statistics of course do not tell the whole story. We place the victims at the heart of everything we do and recognise that there is further work we need to do in order to protect our communities.

“We continually adapt and learn and we will not shy away from sharing this progress with the communities that we serve, working closely with partnership organisations to secure convictions, promote rehabilitation and make Wiltshire a safer place.”

Supt Phil Staynings who oversees neighbourhood policing in Swindon said: “We recognise the issue of the use of knives and other weapons as a factor in violent crime which is a growing cause of concern.

“Our officers and staff use every tactic available to reduce the number of knife incidents, but we can't do this alone. By working together with our partners and supporting communities we know that we can be more effective, responsive and take steps to prevent people, usually young people, carrying and using knives.

"Education plays a vital part too. We are working closely with schools, colleges and youth groups to educate young people about the dangers of knives is as important as enforcing the law.

“Knife crime will continue to be a force priority and we will be relentless in the pursuit of people that use or carry bladed weapons.”

The stats

Excluding fraud, Wiltshire Police recorded a 10% rise in total crime in the year ending March 2022, compared to the year previous.

That compares to 11 in the South West region - and an 8% increase for England and Wales (excluding Devon and Cornwall).

The percentage of crimes involving a knife showed a 14% increase compared with the previous year - with 308 recorded incidents.

• Violence against the person: 7 % increase (24.3 offences per 1,000)
• Sexual offences: 13 % increase (2.6 offences per 1,000)
• Robbery: 9 % increase (0.5 offences per 1,000)
• Theft offences: 21 % increase (15.7 offences per 1,000)
• Criminal Damage and Arson: 2 % increase (6.8 offences per 1,000)
• Drug Offences: -7 %, decrease (1.5 offences per 1,000)
• Possession of Weapons offences: 27 % increase (0.6 offences per 1,000)
• Public Order offences: 12 % increase (5.6 offences per 1,000)

You can view the full ONS report here.

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