6,000 fewer offences across Devon and Cornwall

Overall crime across Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly has fallen by 6.7% - that is over 6,000 fewer recorded offences. This covers the financial year period April 2012 to March 2013.

Chief Constable Shaun Sawyer is encouraged by these latest figures but recognises there is still much work to do. He said: “I am in no doubt that my officers and staff have responded and worked extremely hard these last 12 months, after some disappointing figures last year, so that once again we are back to some historically low crime levels.

“There has been significant falls in domestic burglaries – down nearly 21% and vehicle crime is down by over 12%. Criminal damage – the sort of crimes that blight our neighbourhoods has also fallen by nearly 14% and robbery has fallen by just over 16%.

“These are good results. I am enormously proud of my officers and staff in the way they have got on with things, despite the organisation having to make some necessary but challenging decisions. It is through their hard work and continued focus in delivering an excellent service to the public that we have been able to achieve these results.

“There is more work to do though, particularly around violent crime. Last year violence with injury had increased across the force area. This is a priority area for us and I’m pleased to say that this has fallen by nearly 4%.

“The wider, violence against the person measure (offences where there is no physical injury) saw an increase of over 5% which remind us there are challenges we continue to face. I have asked my senior officers to look at this area in detail and put in place plans to address this measure which I hope will begin to bear fruit next year.”

Another area that has seen an increase is sexual offences which have seen a rise of 2.6% - these are offences which are thought to be under reported. High profile prosecutions in Devon and Cornwall, along with Operation Yewtree – the Jimmy Saville investigation – can only serve to help in raising awareness and encourage victims to come forward.

Partnership working is another critical yet often overlooked area that can have a significant effect on long term crime figures.

Chief Constable Sawyer said: “These effective partnerships must continue to develop so that improved practices can be sought to address complex problems. This will lead to more offenders being brought to justice and fewer victims of crime and ultimately safer communities where we all live. I am working closely with the Police and Crime Commissioner to make sure Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly remain one of the safest places in the country to live.

The headline figures are as follows:

Total crime has fallen by 6.7%, with 6,125 fewer offences recorded in 2012/13 (in total 85,369 offences recorded).
Domestic Burglary has fallen by 20.7%, with in total 3,346 offences recorded.
Vehicle Crime has fallen by 12.7%, with in total 5,917 offences recorded (theft of vehicle/TWOC and theft from vehicles).
Criminal Damage has fallen by 13.7%, with 2,471 fewer offences, in total 15,615 crimes being recorded.
Robbery has fallen by 16.2% to 419 offences.
Violence. Violence with injury has fallen by 3.7%, to 10,762 offences. However, the wider violence against the person category (homicide, assaults, harassment and other violence) has risen by 5.1%. There were 13 homicides recorded in the 2012/13 performance year.
Sexual Offences has risen by 2.6% to 1,928 offences, with a positive outcome rate of 38.9%.
Total Crime Positive Outcomes are 36.4%.