GM Mayor challenges Home Secretary to back local policing

Mayor and Police and Crime Commissioner Tony Lloyd calls on the new Home Secretary to give local police the resources it needs to fight crime and make Greater Manchester safer.

Speaking as new Home Office figures show that recorded crime in Greater Manchester has increased by 12% between April 2015 and March 2016, he said: “Rising crime rates will be of concern to local people, as local policing is still over-stretched and under-resourced.

“Looking at the crime figures in detail, we have continued to see an increase in sexual offences, with more victims coming forward. We need the resources to deal with these and traditional crimes such as burglary. That’s why I call on the new Home Secretary to back our police service and make sure it has the means to keep our communities safe and protect the vulnerable. Amber Rudd says she is committed to cutting crime and keeping this country safe and secure. I challenge her to come good on her words.”

Sexual offences and violent crime have once again seen the biggest increases in reported crime, while theft, vehicle crime and shoplifting have also gone up. Robbery and burglary offences have stayed at similar levels.

For the first time, the national figures include an estimate of cybercrime across the UK, showing that one in ten adults has been a victim in the last year.

Mr Lloyd added: “Fraud can have a devastating impact on people’s lives, with criminals finding more sophisticated ways to prey on people, especially the elderly and vulnerable. Fraudsters don’t adhere to regional or national boundaries, so by including fraud offences in the national figures we can get a more accurate picture of the scale of this issue across the country. We must do more to tackle fraud, and enable police to work together to target criminals, protect the vulnerable, and to raise awareness of how to report it.”

Recorded crime statistics for rolling 12 months ending March 2016:

• All crime – 225, 414 - 12% increase
• Sexual offences – 5,841 - 18% increase 
• Violent crime – 52,174 - 25% increase 
• Shoplifting – 16,712 - 6% increase
• Vehicle offences – 23,911 - 9% increase
• Theft – 105,822 – 5% increase
• Robbery – 3,523 - 0.3% decrease
• Burglary – 28,079 - 0.4% increase
• Criminal damage and arson – 34,272 – 15% increase
• Drug offences – 4898 - 24% decrease