Worrying figures released on Thursday by the Office of National Statistics reflect the rise in crime in the Thames Valley Police area which includes Reading and West Berkshire. Figures from ukcrimestats.comreveal a 17% increase in violent crime, a 29% increase in robbery and a 12% rise in vehicle crime over the year to May 2018.
Murder, robbery and knife crimes recorded by police across England and Wales rose sharply in the last year while the number of police officers is at a record low and detection rates have fallen so almost half of all criminal investigations are been closed with no suspect identified.
Thames Valley Police are doing their best to keep our community safe but the Conservative government has cut funding and there are now fewer police officers than at any time since records began. Locally we have seen neighbourhood policing, so important for reassuring vulnerable people, has been decimated.
“Victims are being seriously let down as tens of thousands of crimes are not resulting in anyone being charged. It can be extremely distressing for people who have experienced traumatic burglaries or muggings to find that the perpetrator has got away with it.
“In Reading West we have seen extra demands on officers including the rise in illegal traveller encampments, so the police desperately need to be adequately funded. I am calling on the Alok Sharma’s Conservative government to give the Thames Valley Police the resources they need and to ensure safety of our communities.”
Figures released by the police themselves in May 2018 comparing recorded crime in the Thames Valley area in 2017 with that in 2016 showed an increase of 18% in weapons offences, 5% in sexual crimes and a shocking 32% rise in robberies. Overall, reported crime in the Thames Valley area rose by 10% with 12,684 more crimes being recorded.
