Crime Falls Across Northants

9 April 2011, 08:13 | Updated: 9 April 2011, 08:17

Crime across Northamptonshire fell by 10.7 per cent during 2010/11 - the seventh successive year that crime has come down in the county.

The annual crime figures show that between 1 April 2010 and 31 March 2011, offences dropped from 55,183 to 49,288 meaning there were 5,895 fewer victims of crime than in the previous year.

The figures show a 37 per cent reduction in overall crime over the last eight years, meaning 29,297 fewer recorded crimes between 2003/04 and 2010/11.

A breakdown of the crime figures shows:

Residential Burglary – Down by 20.3 per cent
Robbery – Down by 15.6 per cent
Vehicle crime – Down by 24.7 per cent
Criminal Damage – Down by 16.9 per cent
Violence – Down by 2.1 per cent
Sexual Offences – Up by 13.9 per cent

Other successes for the force include:

An innovative operation, set up to tackle prostitution in Spring Boroughs and Semilong, helped Northamptonshire Police top last years Home Office backed national Tilley Awards, beating ten finalists at the House of Commons.

This year we saw the public launch of a new technique devised by Northamptonshire Police Scientific Support Manager Dr John Bond, who invented a machine that works to extract latent fingerprints from discharged cartridge cases.

So far we have arrested 2702 people under Operation Guardian – one of the key contributors to the significant reduction in serious acquisitive crime.

The successful prosecution of one of the county’s biggest organised crime gangs, culminating in a total of 93 years imprisonment and the removal of £4 million pounds worth of drugs off the streets.

Public confidence in the police has gone up to 52.7 per cent, the second biggest increase in the country this year.

Chief Constable Adrian Lee, said: “This year has been incredibly challenging for the force, against the back drop of significant financial savings we have continued to bring down crime by 10.7 per cent while making some £6m worth of savings. To have achieved one or the other would have been very good indeed, but to have achieved both is exceptional and is a testament to the tremendous hard work and commitments of the officers and staff, our partner agencies and the communities, who have been key to helping us reduce crime.

“This years figures show a seventh successive reduction in crime, year on year. Coupled with a significant increase in public confidence, this shows that we are doing the right things and the communities are confident that we are delivering that service they need.

“We also remain committed to tackling anti-social behaviour and the issues that matter to people locally. Safer community teams (SCT) continue to hold regular meetings within the community to identify and tackle the priorities you say matter to you. In addition the recent introduction of local priorities questionnaire on the force website means that you can continue telling us what we should be focusing on, and what we are doing to tackle those issues.

“One of the force’s biggest successes has been reducing serious acquisitive crime – robbery, burglary and vehicle crime, which has gone down from 10,151 in 2009/10 to 7,866 in 2010/11, that is a massive 22.5 per cent reduction.

“We did however see a small increase in sexual offences. However closer examination shows that the actual number of offences committed within the year remained stable, while the number of historic offences now being reported increased with many of them being committed by people known to the victim as opposed to stranger sexual offences. The increase therefore indicates that victims were more confident in coming forward and reporting historic offences.

“However, although the figures are very encouraging, there are huge challenges ahead for the force. What we have shown so far is that the force is in a strong position to continue building trust and confidence and dealing with the challenges effectively.

“Going forward this year we will also place strong emphasis on resolving issues with the communities, while previously our focus would largely have been on detection rates. Feedback from communities tells us that resolving low level issues works better for the wider communities in bringing a successful conclusion to an issue.”

Deirdre Newham, Chair of the Police Authority, said: “The successes achieved by the force during the last financial year show that amid change the force has kept focus on reducing crime.

“Last year we set the force challenging targets in key areas such as burglary, robbery and vehicle crime. The force has made significant progress in respect of all of these challenges, as well as making significant savings – an excellent position as we enter the new policing year.

“Again this year, based on considerable consultation with a wide range of people, we have set stretching targets for the force. There will be big changes and testing times for all over the next year - the force is however in a good position to tackle these.”


Corby

Across Corby, crime fell by 2.1 per cent.

This equates to 121 fewer victims of crime in the Corby area.

A breakdown of the crime figures shows:

Residential Burglary – Up by 9 per cent
Robbery – Down by 11.4 per cent
Vehicle crime – Up by 3.3 per cent
Criminal Damage – Down by 16.4 per cent
Violence – Down by 6.6 per cent
Sexual Offences – Up by 71.4 per cent

Inspector Gary Williams, from the Corby sector, said: “I am very pleased with the continuing year on year reductions in overall crime in Corby, but disappointed with the small increases in burglary and vehicle crime, that have in the main occurred over the past two months.

“The crime statistics are only a small part of a bigger picture, which highlights Corby as having excellent levels of trust and confidence in local policing, with significantly reduced levels and perceptions of anti-social behaviour.  Our embedded partnership working and community engagement is going from strength to strength, in ensuring we are listening to our communities and dealing with the things that matter most to those that live and work in Corby”


Kettering

Across Kettering, crime fell by 11.4 per cent.

This equates to 795 fewer victims of crime in the Kettering area.

A breakdown of the crime figures shows:

Residential Burglary – Down by 11.1 per cent
Robbery – Up by 6.6 per cent
Vehicle crime – Down by 8 per cent
Criminal Damage – Down by 18.7 per cent
Violence – Up by 1.2 per cent
Sexual Offences – Up by 1.3 per cent

Inspector Dick Aistrop, from the Kettering sector, said: “Crime fell by 11.4 per cent this year, and it has fallen every year for the past five years for Kettering, therefore over a five year period we have seen over twenty per cent reduction in crime.

“I am disappointed by the small increase in violence however, a closer look at the figures shows that we actually reduced assaults with less serious injury by over 11 per cent, and most serious violence by 33 per cent. Out big impetus on Operation Guardian has also helped contribute to a significant reduction in burglaries.

“Criminal damage, which is frequently raised as a local concern has also been a success, having reduced by 18.7 per cent. The increase in satisfaction in how we are dealing with ASB has gone up to 85 per cent, another success, but we will continue to focus on further improving this for our communities.”


East Northants

Across East Northants, crime fell by 6.8 per cent.

This equates to 311 fewer victims of crime in the East Northants area.

A breakdown of the crime figures shows:

Residential Burglary – Down by 11.8 per cent
Robbery – Down by 19.5 per cent
Vehicle crime – Down by 16.2 per cent
Criminal Damage – Down by 8.2 per cent
Violence – Down by 4.7 per cent
Sexual Offences – Up by 19.6 per cent

Inspector Vaughn Clarke, from the East Northants sector, said: "I am delighted with the results we have achieved in the past 12 months. This side of the county has seen the biggest improvements in resident's perceptions of ASB in their communities, and we have seen very significant reductions in crime. In total there were 311 fewer victims of crime.

“In the next year I want a real focus from my officers in dealing with those things that matter most to the community, particularly the quality of service that we provide to victims - we already know that Northamptonshire is the most improved force in the country in terms of public confidence and I want to see victim satisfaction at the highest possible level we can achieve."
 
Wellingborough

Across Wellingborough, crime fell by 20.6 per cent.

This equates to 1468 fewer victims of crime in the Wellingborough area.

A breakdown of the crime figures shows:

Residential Burglary – Down by 36 per cent
Robbery – Down by 28.7 per cent
Vehicle crime – Down by 30.9 per cent
Criminal Damage – Down by 24.5 per cent
Violence – Down by 4.9 per cent
Sexual Offences – Up by 37.3 per cent

Inspector Nick Lyall, from the Wellingborough Sector, said: “I’m delighted to be able to state that this is, without doubt, the best year’s performance the sector of Wellingborough has ever had and the lowest number of reported crimes since records began. I firmly believe that this is, predominantly, a result of the hard work and dedication of the team of officers and PSCOs who work within the local communities.”

Daventry

Across Daventry, crime fell by 15.1 per cent.

This equates to 742 fewer victims of crime in the Daventry area.

A breakdown of the crime figures shows:

Residential Burglary – Down by 52.6 per cent
Robbery – Down by 9.7 per cent
Vehicle crime – Down by 31.7 per cent
Criminal Damage – Down by 14.5 per cent
Violence – Down by 1.3 per cent
Sexual Offences – Down by 11.7 per cent

Inspector Julia Potts, from the Daventry Sector, said: “I am extremely pleased with the end of years figures for crime in the District. There has been some excellent work carried out with colleagues from across the Force, Operation Guardian and with partners involved in the Community Safety Partnership.

“The community have also assisted us in providing information on those responsible which has helped us recover stolen property and bring those responsible to justice. Officers in Daventry are committed to making the district a safer place to live and work and the reduction in house burglary by more than half is an outstanding result for us. These figures will be challenging to maintain over the next 12 months, but with assistance from the community and partners I am optimistic that we can look forward to another successful year ahead.”


Northampton

Across Northampton, crime fell by 9.2 per cent.

This equates to 2039 fewer victims of crime in the Northampton area.

A breakdown of the crime figures shows:

Residential Burglary – Down by 15 per cent
Robbery – Down by 14.7 per cent
Vehicle crime – Down by 29.3 per cent
Criminal Damage – Down by 16.1 per cent
Violence – Down by 0.4 per cent
Sexual Offences – Up by 3.3 per cent

Chief Inspector Fay Tennet, from the Northampton district, said: “The reductions are excellent news for the people who live, work and socialise in Northampton.  Whilst the percentage decreases are testament to the hard work of the police officers, PCSOs and police staff, it is also a recognition of the work with our partners such as projects to tackle night time economy issues in the town centre.

“The public make a huge contribution by following police advice about their own personal safety and the security of their homes and vehicles.  These reductions also build on the hard work undertaken to see decreases in crime in the previous year as well.  Of course, there is still work to be done where there have been increases and these will be a focus for the new performance year."

South Northants

Across South Northants, crime fell by 11.6 per cent.

This equates to 419 fewer victims of crime in the South Northants area.

A breakdown of the crime figures shows:

Residential Burglary – Down by 17.3 per cent
Robbery – Down by 53.6 per cent
Vehicle crime – Down by 36.6 per cent
Criminal Damage – Down by 17.5 per cent
Violence – Down by 4.4 per cent
Sexual Offences – Up by 50 per cent

Inspector Alex Terry, from the South Northants Sector, said: “South Northants has achieved a reduction of 31.7% this past year in serious acquisitive crime which includes dwelling burglary, vehicle crime and robbery - significantly this means there were 263 less victims of crime than the previous year for these crime types.

“Officers and staff have worked very hard to achieve this reduction by both targeting persistent offenders many of whom are now serving custodial sentences, providing high visibility policing to deter criminal activity, and providing crime prevention advice to residents and local businesses.

“We have worked closely with other agencies such as Trading Standards, VOSA, DVLA and Customs and Excise on Operations such as "Rogue Trader", where traveling criminals have been targeted and have worked closely with Neighborhood Watch across the area to raise awareness around security and crime prevention. We will be continue to be maintain these efforts in the coming year.”