Crime up by four per cent across West Mercia region
Crime levels in the West Mercia region have risen by more than four per cent over the last year, new figures have revealed.
Data from the Office of National Statistics shows 84,342 crimes were reported to West Mercia Police in the year up to March 2018.
That is almost 4,000 up the year up to March 2017, when there were 80,936 reports.
The figures reveal the number of reports to police involving violence without injury, vehicle offences, theft from a person, stalking and harassment, shoplifting, sexual offences and possession of weapons have risen over the last year.
There were 452 crimes involving a knife between April 2017 and March 2018, a drop from 470 the year before.
MORE:
Criminal damage and arson had risen to 10,535 reports from 10,094 in the previous period.
There had been a fall in reports of violence with injury, robbery and drug offences.
In the Dyfed-Powys region, there were 25,742 crimes reported compared to 23,268 reported in the year up to March 2017.
There was a big rise in knife crime, from 97 up to March 2017 to 130, in the run up to March 2018.
There had been a rise in reports of public order offences, sexual offences, shoplifting, stalking and violence without injury.
Reports of drug offences, robbery and violence with injury had fallen since the same time last year.
There was also a slight rise in criminal damage and arson and theft.
The number of drug offences in the Dyfed-Powys region dropped sharply in the last year in the region, falling from 2005 reporting in the year up to March 2017 to 1775 in the year up to March 2018.
Robbery also dropped in the region from 61 up to March 2017 to 38 up to March 2018.
There had also been a fall in possessions of weapon offences, theft from a person, vehicle offences and violence with injury.
Across England and Wales, police forces logged a total of 5.5 million offences in total, a rise of 11 per cent compared with the previous year.
Crime levels are now stabilising after decades of them falling, official statisticians said.
Police registered 40,147 offences involving a knife or sharp instrument in the year to March, a 16 per cent increase on 2016/17 and the highest number since 2010/11.
Caroline Youell, of the ONS, said most people do not experience crime.
She said: "Today's figures show a fairly stable picture in England and Wales for most crime types.
Publishing the data, the Office for National Statistics said: "Over recent decades, we've seen a fall in overall levels of crime, a trend that now looks to be stabilising."
"It is too early to say if this is a change to the long-term declining trend.
"There have been increases in some lower-volume 'high-harm' offences such as homicide and knife crime, consistent with rises over the past three years.
"However, the latest rise in gun crime is much smaller than previously seen.
"We have also seen continued increases in some theft offences such as vehicle-related theft and burglary, while computer viruses have fallen."
