Sexual and arson offences soar as overall crime falls and anti-social behaviour rises in Stockton
Sexual offences have risen by almost a third and arson by more than a quarter in a year when crime fell again for Stockton.
Superintendent Ian O’Donoghue, Stockton’s new district commander, welcomed a “fantastic” 6.4% fall in total crime in the town between August last year and August this year, compared to the previous year. But he recognised steep rises in some crimes and said a growth in anti-social behaviour would be “tackled head-on”.
A total of 20,083 crimes were recorded in the year-long period. Offences reported by the public were down 7.8% while crime found directly by police officers was up by 0.7%.
Supt O’Donoghue said that slight rise “reflects the pro-active policing and targeted partnership working and operations that are ongoing across the borough, which can be taken as a positive in some respects”. He said this included an 18% rise in drug offences, with operations against organised criminals and gangs, drug dealers hauled before the courts and support given to addicts.
The crime figures showed a 1.4% fall in violence – “that’s 112 fewer victims compared with the same period last year” – while death or serious injury caused by illegal driving reduced by over 80% with nine fewer incidents, and two fewer homicides made a two-thirds drop compared to the previous year. Vehicle offences fell by over 30%, home burglary by almost 27%, overall theft by almost 21%, stalking, harassment and public disorder by around 11%, criminal damage 7.3%.
Supt O’Donoghue said: “That’s clear evidence that there’s well-established strategies across the Stockton borough.”
But sexual offences rose by almost 31%, including an almost 32% rise in rapes to a total of 320 reported in the year. Supt O’Donoghue said the increase reflected victims having greater confidence in coming forward, “while one offence is one too many”.
Robbery increased almost 24% and arson by 27%. The commander told a Safer Stockton Partnership meeting today (Wednesday, October 1) that arson was “a key area of focus” and he was starting some work on this with Cleveland Fire Brigade.
He added: “We remain absolutely committed to tackling criminals and supporting victims and keeping the public safe. It’s fair to say that we need to continue to adapt this approach to any emerging challenges over the year ahead.
“Stockton-on-Tees has seen some real progress in reducing crime thanks to the hard work of this partnership and our wider organisations. We’ll continue to build on our successes, address areas of concern and ensure that the borough remains a safe place for everyone.”
Anti-social behaviour had risen, by 13.8% for 5,322 cases reported by members of the public. Supt Donoghue said this was being closely monitored and tackled by police, the council and other partners.
He said: “There’s a key focus on repeat victims and repeat offenders. There’s meaningful problem-solving activity. Although there has been a rise in anti-social behaviour, I’ve been given confidence that we are responding to it appropriately.
“The increase in drug offences and anti-social behaviour, I have reassurance that they are being tackled head-on with continued partnership work, targeted enforcement and community engagement.”
Kay Nicolson, CEO of A Way Out, the charity which works to prevent abuse, harm and exploitation, welcomed assurances about sexual offences but said, referring to national rape statistics: “I worry about the fact that only 2.7% of offences get to prosecution, and do victims really feel they’ve got more confidence in the criminal justice system?
“We have worked really well with the police and I would really encourage more combined working.”
Supt O’Donoghue said the charity gave “fantastic” support to police: “There’s an awful lot of work going on in terms of violence against women and girls. We had a very successful Operation Artemis very recently, and it’s a two-strand approach in my opinion.
“Absolutely we are victim-centred so we listen to victims, give them the time, space and support they need in that criminal justice journey. But equally looking at the perpetrators and offenders of sexual violence, having a robust approach to bringing them to justice.
“There is still work to do, the figures speak for themselves, but we just need to give the public confidence that we do listen to victims, we will take action.”
Marc Stephenson, assistant director for community safety, said there was currently more funding for extra patrols and civic enforcement on anti-social behaviour, and Supt O’Donoghue agreed some of that increase came from pro-active patrolling, with reports discussed in daily meetings: “We have seen an increase in the reporting of anti-social behaviour, which is absolutely what we encourage. If we aren’t aware of the issues in our communities, then we can’t respond and put our resources where they need to be.
“The impact of anti-social behaviour is significant and we recognise that. That’s why we have a really strong focus on repeat victims of anti-social behaviour, really understanding repeat suspects, even really low-level, to try and move young children away from a life of crime. That increase is in part due to better reporting mechanisms into the police as well.”
Sharon Cooney, service manager for public protection, said the council’s community safety officers did joint patrols and spoke to the public: “Those have given us a lot more information and intelligence on where to direct those patrols with police.
“The community have been really supportive with that. The information’s up to date so we know where the anti-social behaviour hotspots are."