Annual crime figures released for Devon and Cornwall Police

Devon and Cornwall has a seen a reduction in crime, and police are doing a good job according to local people. Home Office figures released on Thursday show further reductions in total recorded crime.

In the twelve months leading up to March 2011, Devon and Cornwall Police recorded a 6% decrease in total crime when compared to the same period last year.

This decrease exceeds the 5% reduction in the south west region as well as the national figure of a 4% drop. We now have the third lowest crime rate of all the forces in England and Wales.

The force is also now second in the country in terms of public satisfaction with 67 per cent of those questioned by the British Crime Survey saying they thought the force was doing a good or excellent job in their area.

In terms of recorded crime rates per 1,000 population, Devon & Cornwall Police recorded 52 crimes, compared to 62 in the south west region, and 76 in England and Wales.

Burglary has decreased by 8% in the last twelve months – this incorporates house burglaries (2%) and other burglaries (-11%). Robbery also shows a 3% decrease on the previous year with Devon and Cornwall now having the 5th lowest number of robberies recorded per 1,000 population in England and Wales.

Reductions in reported crime in other areas include offences against vehicles, (such as theft of and from vehicles) which saw a drop of 15%. Other theft offences fell by 4% as well as a 19% drop in fraud and forgery offences. Criminal damage too fell by 14%.

There has been no change in violent crime against people with a 49% detection rate, which is more than the south west region (46%) and nationally (44%).

Sexual offences reflect a 6% increase in the number of reported and recorded crimes when compared to a national and regional fall of 1%.

Recorded drugs offences also show a 6% increase when compared to a 3% increase regionally and a 1% national reduction. The increase is attributed to more proactive operations in Devon and Cornwall which target dealers and users.

Deputy Chief Constable Shaun Sawyer said: "With improvements in key areas, the staff of Devon and Cornwall Police have done a very good job to consistently go the extra mile and reduce crime further.

"Improvements that stand out include that of those crimes and antisocial behaviour that can blight our communities – crime against vehicles, burglary and thefts all fell – and that is extremely encouraging for our communities.

"Many of the reductions we have achieved better national and regional averages and I must pay tribute to all officers, staff and partners who have helped achieve these results.

"With challenging financial times ahead, and having set the bar consistently high, it is our job now that we as a police force remain one of the best achieving forces in the country.

"We are committed to continuing to work with partners and local communities to look at the issues each neighbourhood has and find local solutions to them.

"I am confident that our dedicated staff, with the help of our communities, will be able to maintain the standards we have set year-in year-out to ensure Devon and Cornwall remains one of the safest places in the country to live, work and visit."

In February this year police launched a new crime map website, which enables the public to view all reported incidents their home town. Although the overall crime levels in Devon & Cornwall appear to have decreased, it looks like Tavistock crime levels have increased compared to the results from February this year. Click on the link below to view the current crime map for Tavistock:

Crimes in Tavistock

As you can see, the vast number of reports were for anti-social behaviour, and most incidents took place around Tavistock town centre. Is this what you would have expected?