National figures show five per cent reduction in Warwickshire crime

CRIME in Warwickshire is down by five per cent.

The Office of National Statistics (ONS) published their Crime in England and Wales by Police Force Area dataset for 2023/24 on 24th July.

Nationally, reports of crime have decreased by three per cent but in Warwickshire, this figure is closer to a decrease of five per cent according to national figures.

This includes an 18 per cent reduction in knife crime across Warwickshire which is believed to be attributable to several operations targeting knives in the county, including Op Sceptre (knife amnesties) and Op Talkative (encouraging anonymous reporting of concerns around knife possession).

There has also been a 13 per cent reduction in vehicle offences (compared to the national average reduction of six per cent) and a 14 per cent reduction for offences involving criminal damage and arson compared to the national average reduction of six per cent.

The data highlights areas that the police are working to improve on, including an increase of violence with injury by three per cent and an increase of sexual offences by two per cent.

There has also been an increase in robbery of seven per cent, although this is in line with a national increase of around eight per cent across the country.

Chief constable Debbie Tedds said: “We are happy to see that our efforts in crime reduction across the county have paid off overall, particularly for knife crime, criminal damage, and vehicle offences – I’d like to thank the officers involved for their tireless work in bringing these figures down, your efforts are bearing fruit.

“I am not complacent about those areas where we have seen an unfortunate increase, however small, and we will be redoubling our efforts to deliver the best possible service for victims, to identify offenders, and to see justice delivered.”