Market Drayton crime rise ‘down to better reporting', say police

Reported crimes in the town have risen since last year, with more than half of those being called anti-social, violent or sexual offences.

Figures revealed that 1,929 crimes were reported in the Market Drayton area between April of last year and March this year, with 693 of them coming under the category of ‘anti-social behaviour’.

Of these, 58 were reported in March of this year while the highest number of reports was in July of last year, with 72.

A total of 547 violent and sexual crimes were reported over the year with 60 of them in May last year. There were 153 burglaries and 155 instances of criminal damage and arson.

Pc Claire Greenaway of the Market Drayton Safer Neighbourhood Team said an increase in reports of violent and sexual crime was ‘a huge step forward’.

She said: “Recent media has highlighted a number of high profile cases and this has encouraged a large number of people to report historic offences that have not been brought to the attention of the police before. This is a huge step forward because it is indicative of the confidence members of the public have in the police and wider partner agencies to investigate and support them.

“With regards the anti-social behaviour reports, this area of reporting encompasses a large variety of situations from the dropping of litter to noise nuisance. A great deal of these reports are then referred onto the partner agencies whom have responsibility for that type of report.

Robberies

"It is hard to break down reports of anti-social behaviour at times and the reported figures are rarely indicative of the issues in the community.”

There were only three reported robberies in the town in the last year, with two of those taking place last September. The third was in February of this year. Crimes classified as ‘other theft’ were reported 146 times.

Police in the area said that 436 of the reported crimes are currently under investigation.

Crime in Market Drayton was markedly higher than in nearby Newport, which received 1,332 reports in the same time period.

Over the period of data there were 41 reports of shoplifting in Market Drayton and 41 public order offences, while 32 drugs crimes were reported. Seven of those were reported in January this year.

Crimes generally were more common in summer and rarer in winter, and in July and May of 2017 the crime number was the highest it has been all year, with 179 reports in each month.