22/01/2009

Increase In Knife Robberies, Statistics Show

The number of robberies involving knives rose by 18% between July and September last year, according to new figures released today.

The Home Office statistics also showed that domestic burglaries rose by 4% during the same period, while fraud and forgery was up by 16%. Drug offences have also risen by 9%.

However, there was a decrease in firearms offences, which were down 29%, while sexual offences dropped by 7%.

A drop in overall crime, of 3%, was recorded compared with the same period in 2007.

The statistics were released after it emerged 18 of the 43 English and Welsh police forces had been under-recording serious violent crime for up to a decade.

The Home Office named the 18 forces involved in the counting error. As well as Scotland Yard, the forces include the Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Cleveland, Cumbria, Derbyshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Humberside, Kent, Lancashire, Norfolk, North Wales, North Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire, Staffordshire, Suffolk and Thames Valley forces.

(JM/BMcC)

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