CRIME rates nationally have fallen by five per cent – and in Cheshire and Warrington the drop is even more.
The figures, released by the Home Office, compare the year 2008-09 with the year before.
Cheshire Police say there were more than 4,000 fewer victims of crime in the county last year, compared with the previous year.
Fewer people reported violence being used against them. Nationally the Home Office figures reveal a drop of six per cent. In Cheshire the number of people who experienced the use of violence against them, fell by 889.
The year end figures for Cheshire Police in the majority of crime types reflect the trends shown in the national figures. The number of sexual offences recorded in Cheshire fell by 6.99 per cent – exceeding the fall nationally by nearly three percent.
Specific figures for Warrington are not included in the release. But police crimemapping for the three month period to May this year show that crime in Warrington – which has an “average” crime rate when compared to the rest of Cheshire – fell by 5.8 per cent.
But in eight areas of the borough, crime has risen. In Bewsey and Whitecross, the only area with a “high” crime rate, it has gone up by 2.9 per cent.
Other areas showing an increase are Penketh and Cuerdley (2.4 per cent), Rixton and Woolston (3.4 per cent), Latchford East (12 per cent), Stockton Heath (31.8 per cent), Whittle Hall (24.4 per cent), Grappenhall and Thelwall (58.2 per cent) and Great Sankey South (5.7 per cent).
Other areas experienced drops in crime ranging from 4.7 per cent in Great Sankey North to 36.6 per cent in Culcheth, Glazebury and Croft.
Last year, when Cheshire Police asked local people what they wanted officers in their local community to do more of, the reply was that they wanted action taken to tackle drug abuse.
Assistant Chief Constable Phil Thompson said: “We listened and acted on the concerns raised about drugs in our communities. The rise in the number of recorded drug offences last year is testimony to the work officers and staff have done to tackle drug offences.
“We recorded more drug offences than in the previous year due to the number of pre planned operations we carried out targeting drug dealers. We also conducted more initiatives to disrupt the supply of drugs to users than in the previous year in direct response to the concerns raised by local people.
“The police service as a whole recognises the problems drug use causes in local communities. Users often burgle, steal or commit robbery to fund their habits, dealers use intimidation and threats to recover debts from users who cannot pay on time and organised crime gangs can use profits from drug supply to fund more serious criminal activity.
“Our work in this area continues, last year we sent a clear message to those people who think that drugs is an easy way to make a profit – in Cheshire we will continue to respond to the community concerns in this area and residents can expect to see more operations targeting dealers and suppliers and proactive targeting of drug use in our towns and city centres.”
