A reported rise in violent crime, house burglaries and instances of stalking and harassment in Suffolk has been explained by police as a “change in crime classifications”.
Figures published yesterday by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show Suffolk Constabulary recorded 2,172 domestic burglaries in the 12 months to September 2017, compared with 1,362 the previous year.
Figures for “stalking and harassment” increased by 87% to 4,151 last year, while overall violent crimes increased by 26%.
Suffolk Constabulary said the increases were due to changes in crime classifications, which has combined harassment with stalking and added other types of burglary into the “domestic burglary” category.
Overall reported crime was up 16% in Suffolk, which is similar to national trends.
Suffolk police said its crime rate per head of population was lower than the national average and placed it the 17th lowest of all forces. Deputy Chief Constable Stephen Jupp said the force was proud of Suffolk’s safe reputation.
“That being said we have to accept we live in an ever-changing world which makes policing more complex than at any other time in the past, and we continue to deliver high standards of investigation and this has been consistently reflected by HMIC inspections,” he added,
“We are constantly looking for ways to develop and improve our policing model to help address these rises in various categories.
“This complexity encompasses a continued shift towards certain types of crime, including those termed as areas of ‘hidden harm’, such as sexual offences, internet-based crime, domestic abuse and modern-day slavery.
“Set against how we respond to these growing challenges is our determination to ensure other types of crime, including violence and burglaries in particular, remain among our top priorities.
Mr Jupp said the force was determined to protect the communities and those who are most vulnerable.
He added that some of the increase in crimes were because victims were more confident their reports would be taken seriously, while some was down to improvements in the force’s crime recording processes.”
The ONS said changes in police recorded crime were not an accurate measure of changes in overall crime.
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