Crime in focus: Statistics show ups and downs of crime around our region

11:03am Wednesday 29th November 2006

Comments (15)   Have your say »

THE Freedom of Information Act has given the media and the public unprecedented access to information held by public bodies. Using the act, reporter GAVIN AITCHISON obtained details of every crime recorded in York and North Yorkshire from October 1, 2004 and September 30, 2006. Today and tomorrow, we use that data to reveal a picture of crime in your area, as never seen before.

MORE than three people a week were raped in York and North Yorkshire last year, after reported cases rose by nearly 40 per cent, dramatic new figures have revealed.

Instances of blackmail have also soared, increasing almost five-fold in the past 12 months.

Child abduction, sexual offences against children, and incest have also risen, as have bike thefts, car break-ins, shoplifting and a range of other crimes.

The startling statistics emerged after The Press used the Freedom Of Information Act to obtain details of every offence recorded by North Yorkshire Police in the past two years, enabling us to present the most detailed ever analysis of crime in our area.

The figures show that between October 2005 and September 2006, there were 23,024 crimes in York, and 55,688 across the force area as a whole - equivalent to one every nine-and-a-half minutes.

In total, crime is down on the previous year by 3.2 per cent for York, and 8.6 per cent overall, but a range of other offences increased, most notably sexual crimes.

The number of recorded rapes rose from 118 in 2004/05 to 162 last year; cases of sexual activity with under-13s rose from 11 to 19; illegal sex with a girl under 16 was up from 34 to 50; gross indecency with a child was up from four to nine; incest from two to eight; and child abduction from seven to 14.

Alison Wilson, chairwoman of York Rape Crisis today called the statistics "horrendous" - and said she thought the actual number of people being raped could even be far higher.

She said: "We have noticed an increase in the number of people that are ringing, and cases that are happening.

"The figures are horrendous, but I do think there are a lot more not being reported. I do not think even half of all cases are being reported."

Ms Wilson could not say for sure whether the rise was due to more people being raped, or victims being more willing to report their ordeal.

She said: "We do have a lot of people that say the police are great, and things get mixed up at the Crown Prosecution Service, but on the whole I think the service is improving."

Cases of violent crime fell by 29 per cent, from 2,427 to 1,714, and instances of weapon possession dropped by 19 per cent, from 367 to 298. There was also a large drop in credit card and cheque fraud, which fell 31.5 per cent, from 793 to 543.

Attacks on constables also fell, by 22 per cent, but at 320 for the year, the figure still equates to six officers being assaulted each week.

The figures also show the full extent of more common crimes such as theft, drug abuse and criminal damage.

Last year, there were 2,102 bikes stolen across the force area; 4,760 car break-ins; and 3,705 cases of shoplifting - all up on the previous year.

There were 1,767 drug offences - down from 1,828 in 2004/05 North Yorkshire's Assistant Chief Constable Peter Bagshaw did not comment explicitly on the increase in rape cases, but said the overall drop in crime was a continuation of a longer downward trend, which had seen crime fall by 22 per cent in four years.

On the number of offences against children, an NSPCC spokesperson said: "Child protection is everyone's responsibility.

"Effective child protection requires a good partnership between professionals and the general public. It relies on all of us looking out for children's welfare and acting on any concerns we may have. We must make sure that all vulnerable children have someone to turn to. The NSPCC would urge anyone who has concerns about a child to report it immediately."