Crime has fallen in Bassetlaw, official figures show

Nottinghamshire Police recorded 9,164 offences in Bassetlaw in the 12 months to December, according to the Office for National Statistics.

That was a decrease of 15 per cent compared to the previous year, when there were 10,760.

At 78 crimes per 1,000 people, that was slightly lower than the rate across England and Wales, which stood at 81.

Crimes recorded in Bassetlaw included:

240 sexual offences, a decrease of 9 per cent

2,935 violent offences, a decrease of 9 per cent

1,154 incidents of criminal damage and arson, down 13 per cent

232 drug offences, down 2 per cent

63 possession of weapons such as firearms or knives, down 30 per cent

698 public order offences, down 5 per cent

3,500 theft offences, down 22 per cent

Overall, police recorded 8 per cent fewer crimes across England and Wales – there were around 5.6 million offences in the year to December.

The ONS said the annual drop was mainly driven by a “substantial fall” in crime of 15 per cent between April and June as the first lockdown restrictions were introduced.

While police-recorded crimes increased from July to September as restrictions were gradually eased, they fell again in the last three months of the year as lockdown measures were reimposed, it added.

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Sophie Sanders, of the ONS Centre for Crime and Justice, said: “There were fluctuations in the level of crime experienced in England and Wales throughout 2020.

“Although a small proportion of these fluctuations will be the result of seasonal effects on crime trends, the majority can be attributed to the introduction and subsequent easing of national lockdown restrictions throughout the year.

“Most crime types have seen recorded offences fall year-on-year. The notable exceptions are drug offences, because of proactive police activity in crime hotspots during the first lockdown, while violence against the person also saw a small increase.”

Crest Advisory, a criminal justice consultancy, said it is not surprising that crime patterns were "hugely affected" by the unprecedented restrictions of the pandemic.

But it noted that drug offences across England and Wales rose by 15 per cent and there was a 7 per cent increase in the number of domestic abuse-related offences recorded by police in 2020.

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