Crime falls during pandemic but police preparing for return to 'normality'

West Mercia Police said they had been planning so they are in a position to tackle a rise in offences – back to pre-pandemic levels, as a result of lockdown fully lifting earlier this week.

Figures released by the Office for National Statistics show crime was down by 16 per cent across West Mercia in the year up to March, with some violent crime down by as much as 20 per cent.

There were falls in nearly all types of offences – apart from drug offences, which were up by 19 per cent.

According to the figures violence with injury was down by 20 per cent, violence without injury down by 16 per cent, robbery down 27 per cent, and theft down 32 per cent.

Burglary also dropped by 29 per cent while shoplifting was down by 35 per cent.

The significant drops have been due to the on-off lockdown restrictions over the past 16 months, but with those now lifted, one of the region's senior police officers, Chief Inspector Nigel Webster, has said his force is preparing for a return to pre-pandemic levels.

West Mercia's Police and Crime Commissioner, John Campion, has also said he believes it is inevitable that, with the country returning to some kind of normality, certain crimes will start to increase.

He said his focus is on making sure the force has enough resources to deal with whatever the return to normality brings.

Ch Insp Webster said: “Due to the Covid-19 restrictions in place over the past year and a half we, together with other forces across the country, have seen falls in crime and violence as criminals have had fewer opportunities to offend.

“Sadly, with the easing of lockdown we do expect to see that trend reverse and have plans in place to tackle that as we continue to be active in preventing and tackling crime in the community we serve to protect.”

Mr Campion added: “With the restrictions we have lived with for the past 18 months all but lifted, I fully recognise that we will start to see an increase in the impact on our emergency services – as we have with the ambulance service.

"With normality comes people out and about enjoying the area they live in. However, with normality, it is inevitable that it will also see certain crime types returning back to the levels prior to lockdown.

“I would urge communities to continue taking personal responsibility. That’s what we relied on before lockdown and that’s what we need to remember and live by. I will continue to ensure that West Mercia Police has the resources it needs to tackle crime and keep our communities safe.”