Cases of fraud and knife crime have increased sharply according to Government figures published today (18 July).
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) reports a 17% rise in cases of fraud (3,809,000 offences) and an 8% increase in the number of police recorded offences involving a knife (43,516 offences). The figures relate to crimes recorded by the police between April 2018 and March 2019.
Commenting on these figures John Hayward-Cripps, CEO of the Neighbourhood Watch Network, said:
“An active Neighbourhood Watch group can help communities organise against many different issues including fraud and knife crime. We have resources our members can use to help them take action in a safe and guided way to ensure their neighbourhoods are more resilient to crime. Communities battling with knife crime and fraud should know Neighbourhood Watch is a tool, a resource, a movement that is here to help.
Communities battling with knife crime and fraud should know Neighbourhood Watch is a tool, a resource, a movement that is here to help.
John Hayward-Cripps, CEO of Neighbourhood Watch
“The efforts of the police to keep us all safe must be commended but it’s obvious their resources and personnel have been increasingly stretched in recent years. In particular community policing, which many Neighbourhood Watch groups work closely with, has been scaled back. We are glad, therefore, to see both potential future prime ministers, Boris Johnson and Jeremy Hunt, commit to funding more police officers across England and Wales.”
The ONS also recorded an increase in robbery (up 11%), criminal damage to vehicles (17%) and offences involving a firearm (3%).
Elsewhere, there were reductions in the number of homicides (down 4%) and burglaries (3%).