19/10/2006

Street crime still on the rise

Official statistics have revealed that street crime and robbery in England and Wales rose by 5% between April and June this year.

The increase follows an 8% rise recorded in the year to April – an upward trend which has been attributed to a higher level of thefts from people carrying electronic items such as MP3 players and mobile phones.

However, the Home Office has reported that firearms offences showed an 8% drop in the year to June, as well as a fall in the number of assaults.

Responding to the figures, Home Office Minister Tony McNulty said: "Although recorded robbery has increased, the rate is much slower than in recent quarters and is the result of work we are doing with the police, Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships and the mobile phone industry as well as our advertising campaign warning people to keep their valuables safe.

"But I am not complacent and recognise that more work needs to be done to reverse this trend."

(CL)

Related UK National News Stories
Click here for the latest headlines.

25 January 2005
Survey reveals falling level of some crimes
The overall crime rate in England and Wales is continuing to fall, according to the results of the British Crime Survey (BCS). The survey showed that the overall crime rate fell by 11%, in the year ending September 2004.
18 October 2012
Fall In Crime Across England And Wales
Official statistics show a 6%fall in crimes against adults in England and Wales for the year ending in June. Crimes recorded by the police also fell by 6% in the same period. This continues the downward trend in recorded crime seen since 2004/05.
22 January 2004
Police figures show 14% rise in violent crime
Violent crime recorded by police in England and Wales rose by 14% in the three months up to September last year, according to crime survey statistics published by the Home Office today. The police recorded crime figures were published alongside the British Crime Survey (BCS), the government's preferred measure for quantifying crime levels.
04 December 2003
Ecstasy in decline but drug use is 'stable'
Class A drug use overall has remained the same but ecstasy use has fallen by a fifth, according to Home Office figures published today. Figures for 2002/03 show that class A drug use among young people has been "broadly stable" since 1996 with recent falls in some individual drugs, such as ecstasy which has fallen for the first time.
06 December 2004
UK receives $10 million of confiscated Colombian drug money
Ten million dollars confiscated from a Colombian drugs baron will be used to tackle crime in the UK, Home Office Minister Caroline Flint said today, following a successful international US/UK drugs enforcement operation. The money (£5.