Burglary offences are continuing to fall in West Mercia, following a committed approach from the West Mercia Police and Crime Commissioner and the police force.
Burglaries of dwellings have fallen 6%, and of non-dwellings have fallen 7%*, ahead of the national trend of a 3% decrease.
The Commissioner has invested in a number of initiatives to protect homes and businesses from burglary including Smartwater technology, We Don’t Buy Crime Officers and other increased resources around business and rural crime. He’s also invested in police resources, including increasing officer numbers and improved victim services, to provide the best possible service to those who are affected.
Other crime types including vehicle crime, bicycle theft, criminal damage and drug offences have also shown a continual decrease, in the most recent figures.
Commissioner John Campion said “I made a commitment to make our communities safer, and this is just one example of how this is being achieved. The investments I have made are not only ensuring the police are better equipped to prevent and deal with crime, but enable the public to protect themselves longer term. My smartwater offer still stands to those who want to take practical steps to continue to keep their communities safe.
There are of course always areas we can improve on, and I committed to ensuring we continue to work together, to deliver the very best for communities across Herefordshire, Worcestershire, Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin.”
West Mercia Police Deputy Chief Constable Amanda Blakeman said: “It is encouraging to see reductions in burglary, however that does not mean we are complacent and our efforts to reduce this even further continue. We know the huge impact being a victim of burglary can have on our communities and are grateful for the opportunity to work with John Campion to strengthen our response and help ensure we’re doing the very best for our communities.”
For more information on the PCC’s Smartwater offer click here.
*Figures were released as part of ONS data, published 18th July 2019 and cover the year ending March 2019.
Issued: Thursday 1st August 2019
