National Police Chiefs’ Council Lead for Crime and Incident
Recording Chief Constable Bill Skelly said:
“The latest crime statistics show that total levels of
crime are broadly stable compared with recent years. Police
forces continue to see increases driven by better recording
procedures and improved victim confidence in coming forward to
report crimes like domestic violence and non-recent sexual
abuse.
“There are some genuine increases that police forces across
the country are responding to, particularly with regard to 14 per
cent rise in knife crime and 13 per cent increase in firearms
offences. The trend – which had been declining for many years but
has now begun to climb more sharply – is a key priority for the
police service. Forces will continue to target habitual offenders
and conduct wide-ranging proactive operations to seize thousands
of illegal weapons before they can be used to cause harm.
“The experimental statistics also highlight the complex
picture around fraud and computer misuse with significant
increases and an estimated 5.4 million incidents occurring in the
last 12 months. Police forces are working with partners both
locally and nationally to strengthen peoples’ defences against
online crime and develop new tactics and capabilities for digital
policing to tackle the cyber threat.”
