More crime recorded in Northumberland

Northumbria Police recorded 22,717 offences in the area in the 12 months to March, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS) – an increase of six per cent on the previous year, when there were 21,482.

At 70.2 crimes per 1,000 people, that was lower than the rate across England and Wales, which stood at 89.3.

Of the crimes recorded in the area over the last 12 months, 1,024 were sexual offences – an increase of 28% – and violent crime has risen from 8,887 to 9,602.

One of the main factors behind this increase was the rise in violence with injury, which rose by 20%, from 2,262 incidents to 2,724.

Theft offences also rose by eight with 4,975 incidents recorded.

Crimes recorded in Northumberland included:

*1,024 sexual offences – a rise of 28%.

*9,602 violent offences – a rise of eight per cent.

*2,753 incidents of criminal damage and arson – up by 24%.

*416 drug offences – a drop of 25%.

*164 possession of weapons such as firearms or knives – down five per cent.

*3,046 public order offences - down by two per cent.

*3,537 stalking and harassment offences – down by four per cent.

Nationally, police forces in England and Wales recorded the highest number of crimes in 20 years – 6.3 million in the year to March 2022 - four per cent higher than the previous all-time high of 6.1 million in 2019/20.