Violent Crime On Increase
Bobbies on the beat: more likely to encounter violent crime.
New figures released by Thames Valley Police suggest violent crime in Oxford is getting worse. Police recorded a twelve per cent increase in acts of violence last year, the equivalent of 800 more violent attacks. There were an estimated 8,800 violent incidents from April to February 2004-05, compared to 7,600 in the same period in 2003-04. The increase is in line with national trends, but is lower than that for the wider Thames Valley region, where an increase of 17.
per cent was reported last year. Since the introduction of the National Crime Recording Standard in 2002 police now record every incident they become aware of. This even includes alcohol-related scuffles in which neither party presses charges. However, overall crime is down. According to police figures, total incidents of reported crime fell by 2.4 per cent on the previous year.
These figures contrast with a different measure of crime, the British Crime Survey, which recorded falls in both total crime and violent acts.
28th Apr 2005