Crime Down In Kent

Police say the risk of becoming a victim of crime in Kent is the lowest it's been for four years.

Latest figures from the Home Office's British Crime Survey 2010/2011 show the overall number of recorded incidents in Kent and Medway has fallen by more than 40,000 or 28% since 2007.

Violent crime is at a four year low, falling 5% on the last year's figures, and 27% since 2007, while criminal damage and burglary are down by 6% and 4.6% respectively.
 
Recorded offences involving the use of a knife or sharp instrument are also down by 10% and offences involving a firearm have fallen 28%.

But there has been a rise in sex offences which were up 2.3% in Kent. Medway in particular saw an increase of 15.2% in various sex offences, many of which were historical from victims too afraid to come forward before now. Police say they have proactively strived to instill confidence in encouraging victims to come forward to report this type of offence.

Assistant Chief Constable Paul Brandon said: "We will not be complacent and will continue to work with our partner agencies to reduce crime and the impact of crime on our county.

We will be carrying out a series of initiatives over the coming year to further reduce crimes that matter to our communities, such as the current burglary campaign.
 
"The increase in our neighbourhood officers, in line with the new policing model for Kent, will enable us to focus on offences such as burglary, theft and anti social behaviour, all of which are deeply upsetting for the victims.'