Devon remains one of safest places to live but public are urged to continue to report crimes

The counties of Devon and Cornwall have the second lowest crime rate in England but some offences have low reporting rates and the public are being urged to come forward if they have been a victim of a crime, especially a sexual offence.

In recent years it has become harder to report crimes. Honiton police station has been closed to the public for since 2014. Officers work inside the station but people wishing to support a crime in Honiton are unable to do this at the station. Instead, they must call the helpline for non-urgent crimes, which is 101.

There are no plans to reopen the station.

Despite generally low levels, the number of some types of crime have increased in Devon and Cornwall. Sexual offences have increased by 29.5% and this reflects national patterns. The increase coincided with the end of lock-down and an increased focus on Violence Against Women and Girls, which may have driven a rise in reporting the crimes as women felt more confident to contact the police.

Even so, there are concerns that people are failing to come forward when they have been a victim of a sexual offence. Alison Hernandez, Police and Crime Commissioner for Devon, Cornwall, and the Isles of Scilly, said: "While I am pleased to see relatively low levels of recorded incidents for the area, we must remain committed to encouraging more people to report crime, so we have a more accurate picture of offending in the force area.

"We know crimes like shoplifting and sexual offences are still under-reported and I would encourage victims to come forward so we can offer them the help and support they need.

"With the Government uplift and monies from our local communities Devon and Cornwall Police is able to reach record officer numbers and is in a strong position to be able to respond to and prevent crime, but we cannot do that without the support and engagement of the communities we serve."

The Office of National Statistics (ONS) crime figures, which are for March 2021 - March 2022 ranks all 42 forces in England according to the number of reported crimes.

The statistics report a 12.2% increase in recorded crime, with 56.8 crimes per 1,000 population. The increase in incidents is most likely as result of crime returning to pre-covid levels and follows national trends.

Temporary Deputy Chief Constable Julie Fielding said: "The latest crime statistics reflect how our region is adjusting to life post lockdown having emerged from the Covid-19 pandemic and is a testament to the hard work and dedication of our officers, staff, volunteers and our work with communities and partners.

"We have seen an increase in overall crime which has coincided with the steady return to normality with people being more active post lockdown. The return of the evening and night-time economies and the numbers of visitors to the counties have increased and we are working hard with our partners to tackle and prevent crime and protect vulnerable people. 

"Some aspects of crime have not returned to their pre-covid levels in Devon and Cornwall. All burglary offences have seen a decrease of 7%, falling during the lockdowns and not rising back to their former levels. During the pandemic and particularly during lockdown periods many people worked from home and did not travel or leave vehicles unattended away from the home. As restrictions have eased many people have adopted hybrid working patterns with more working from home than pre-pandemic which has reduced some of the opportunities for offending.

"Historically we have had relatively low levels of acquisitive crimes and the latest figures show that Devon and Cornwall have the lowest levels of crime for a number of types of acquisitive crimes and we continue our work on reducing and preventing crime."

Devon and Cornwall police are trying to bring more offenders to justice and are working with the national Operation Bluestone Soteria team to review how they respond to crimes of rape and sexual offences.

The statistics shows that possession of weapon offences has increased by 8%, but this is likely a result of several proactive policing operations that have taken place over the last 12 months.

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