Crimes expected to rise in Cheshire due to the cost of living

Cheshire Police is bracing itself for a rise in certain types of crime, particularly reports of theft and robbery, which the police chief says is because of the soaring cost of living.

"I think logic dictates some aspects of acquisitive crime, we would expect them to go up with the cost of living crisis." said Mark Roberts, Chief Constable at Cheshire Police.

"We're looking for it, we're scrutinising it and we've got a range of outcomes. People need to be identified when they're committing crime and then we need to put the appropriate sanction in.

"We're going to target the offenders, we'll be out there, and we'll get there quickly. The public need to work with us. Yes, there's a reasonable expectation that we might see an increase in those types of acquisitive crime."

"We do see some large scale burglaries where people have left windows open. The old one, don't leave your car keys on show and make sure you keep your front door locked. If the public can do these basic things it will reduce the opportunity."

It follows a warning to drivers by the force after a number of petrol stations reported huge numbers of people making off without paying for fuel.

In July, there were more than 100 reports of fuel theft across the county.

Chief Superintendent Peter Crowcroft said: “We appreciate that times are hard everyone with the cost of living soaring, however, we cannot stand by and allow a small minority of people to get away with the theft of fuel.

“This may seem trivial to some but as police, we have a job to do and if you are committing any type of crime, we will prosecute you.

“But be aware, in Cheshire, we have many tools at our disposal such as ANPR cameras on road networks and facial recognition capabilities that will assist us in identifying offenders and bringing them to justice."

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