The Office for National Statistics have claimed that crimes recorded by police in England and Wales fell by 7% between March 2012-March 2013. In almost all the main categories of crime – including violence – there were also reductions, although pick-pocketing, fraud and sexual offences have all risen.
Meanwhile, separate data from the Crime Survey for England and Wales showed the number of crimes had fallen 9% since a year ago.
The news comes amidst serious cuts to the size of the police force. The Home Office said the number of officers had fallen to below 130,000 – 4,500 fewer than last year.
Prime Minister David Cameron welcomed the news. “We have asked them to do more with less resources. They have performed, I think, magnificently,” he said.
Speaking on his LBC radio show, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said falling crime figures were “one of the great triumphs of recent years” and “a great tribute to the police.”
Yet despite the wider drop in recorded crime, one of the main categories to rise was “theft from the person” – including pick-pocketing and snatching of bags and mobile phones – up 9%.
Fraud offences have seen a considerable increase, rising by 27%. Officials suggested this was due to changes in the way fraud was recorded, with a more centralised approach. The Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) said it also suggested that more fraud was being committed online.
Statisticians attributed the 1% rise in recorded sexual offences to what they dub the “Yewtree effect” – a reference to Scotland Yard’s operation set up after the Jimmy Savile scandal. They suggested the number of sexual offences reported could continue to rise over the coming months, as people come forward to report historic offences.
Labour also welcomed the figures, but said there was nonetheless “worrying evidence” that the service provided by the police was “being hollowed out” by the cuts to the force.
“The police are doing an impressive job in increasingly difficult circumstances… but ACPO have warned that the full effect of the cuts is not yet being felt,” said Yvette Cooper, the Shadow Home Secretary.
“As the government has made it so much harder for the police, they should not try to take credit for the work the police and communities are doing.”
