Crime across Yorkshire falls by eight per cent as police insist it's not just down to lockdown but an increase in proactive work

According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), a total of 544,518 crimes were recorded by the four Yorkshire police forces, driven by substantial falls during April to June, particularly in theft offences, as the country spent most of this period under strict lockdown restrictions.

The police recorded crime figures show a 16 per cent drop in homicides, a 25 per cent decrease in burglaries, and a seven per cent drop in sexual offences.

There were increases in drug offences, up 21 per cent, stalking and harassment, up 11 per cent, and death by dangerous driving offences, which rose by six per cent.

Yorkshire's largest police force, West Yorkshire Police, recorded nearly a nine per cent decrease in overall crime, resulting in 25,840 fewer victims.

Chief Constable John Robins said: "While the recent lockdowns have resulted in fewer crimes being committed, crime in West Yorkshire was already on a downward trend prior to the pandemic with reductions recorded in the year up to March 2020.

"Despite the very real health risk to themselves and their families, every day police officers and staff across West Yorkshire have continued to put themselves in harm’s way to help the public, deal with offenders and to reduce crime."

Crime across the Humberside Police force area saw the biggest drop in the county with a fall of 10 per cent, followed by North Yorkshire Police which recorded a nine per cent reduction.

Humberside Police Deputy Chief Constable Chris Rowley said the reduction is "largely down to" proactive work carried out by teams to "capitalise on this reduction in crime".

South Yorkshire Police Chief Constable Mark Roberts also said it was "heartening" to see an increase in drug offences including trafficking and possession, in the county, despite crime falling overall by three per cent.

He said: "That may seem like a strange thing to say but the increases we have been seeing in this area are a result of our proactive work to target organised criminal groups and those involved in the supply of drugs. Throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, our work to crack down on those who bring misery to our communities has never stopped."

Across England and Wales, police recorded crime dropped by six per cent, to around 5.7 million offences, but domestic abuse rose by 10 per cent with 842,813 domestic abuse-related offences recorded in the year ending September 2020, up from 769,611 the previous year.

Helen Ross, from the ONS Centre for Crime and Justice said: "The coronavirus pandemic and related lockdown restrictions have resulted in fluctuations in the level of crime experienced in England and Wales.

"Data from the survey showed decreases in crime at the start of the pandemic, with rises seen over the summer months, specifically in theft, following the easing of lockdown measures, with overall crime now back at pre-lockdown levels of January to March 2020."