Number of sex crimes recorded in Lancaster hits record high

Office for National Statistics figures show Lancashire Constabulary recorded 505 sexual offences in Lancaster in the year to September – up from 410 during the previous 12 months and the highest since equivalent records began in the year to September 2007.

It follows a trend across England and Wales as police forces logged a record 199,021 sex crimes in the year to September, up 17% on the 12 months before. It was also up 22% compared with the year ending March 2020, prior to the coronavirus pandemic – crime levels were greatly reduced during the lockdown periods.

Of these, 70,633 (35%) were rapes – a 20% increase from the 59,104 recorded in the 12 months to March 2020.

Diana Fawcett, chief executive of Victim Support, said: "Charges for rape and sexual offences have been falling sharply for the past six years – the system is in crisis. We are on a path to destroying victims’ faith in the criminal justice system all together.

"Police and the CPS have a duty to survivors who have experienced life-changing trauma – they must do better and start delivering justice."

The ONS urged "caution" when interpreting the data on sexual offences, which could be affected by a “number of factors” including improvements in how police record crime as well as victims being more willing to come forward.

Meghan Elkin, from the ONS, said police-recorded crime figures are a "better indicator of police activity", rather than a reliable insight into crime trends.

Meanwhile, further ONS figures show the overall number of recorded crimes across the country remained below pre-pandemic levels.

The crime survey for England and Wales estimates 9.1 million offences were committed in the year to September – down 10% on the 10.2 million committed in the year to March 2020, the last full year before the pandemic.

Police recorded figures, which only include the crimes logged by the police, show 5.5 million crimes (excluding fraud) were recorded in the year to September – 13% up on the 4.9 million logged the year before.

In Lancaster, 11,503 crimes were recorded by police – up by 11% on the 10,406 the year before.

Tiff Lynch, deputy national chair at the Police Federation of England and Wales, said the rise in crime means "the safety and welfare" of police officers is at risk.

Ms Lynch said: "For the public to have the police they deserve, we must be able to retain the experienced officers we have and attract the talented and dedicated individuals we need by offering fair pay, staff levels that do not represent a threat to our officers, and ensure the kit and the support so desperately needed is provided."

Minister for Policing, Crime and Fire Chris Philp said: "Overall crime in England and Wales has dropped by 50% since 2010, excluding fraud and computer misuse, and since December 2019 there have been reductions in the number of burglaries, cases of serious violence and murder – which are all still lower than before the pandemic.

"But I am clear that there is much more to do, particularly to protect women and girls.”