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25
Oct
New figures spark concern about knife crime in North Yorkshire
New police data has revealed knife crime increased in North Yorkshire over summer — and only about one in seven incidents are resolved.
North Yorkshire Police gave the figures during an online public meeting yesterday (October 24) organised by Jo Coles, the Labour deputy mayor for York and North Yorkshire who has responsibility for scrutinising policing.
A chart showed the number of incidents increased every month except one between March and August this year.
There were 54 in March, 65 in April, 71 in May, 67 in June, 75 in July and 77 in August. The figure then fell sharply to 49 in September.
The chart also revealed a resolved outcome rate of 14.3%, which Ms Coles said she was worried about.
Deputy chief constable Scott Bisset said it was important to understand the context around knife crime.
He said there had been a “particularly problematic group of offenders” and some issues involved people from West Yorkshire, Humberside and Cleveland.
DCC Bisset also mentioned the police had used Section 60 powers this year, which gives officers enhanced powers to stop and search people in specified areas for a limited time.
Section 60 powers were used in Harrogate and Knaresborough this summer.
He added there had been a “real focus on it this year” and a “significant decrease” in September, which he said was “all about locking people up”.
Chief constable Tim Forber added:
We are arresting more people than we were last year, we are prosecuting more people than we were last year and that’s manifesting itself in improved outcomes for the public. Recorded crime this year to date is 4.5% less than it was this time last year. In certain categories of crime, such as robbery, we are seeing very significant reductions and likewise we are seeing significant reductions in recorded anti-social behaviour across the county.
The meeting also revealed the residential burglary resolved outcome rate is just 4.82% and response times for 999 calls have improved significantly and is now 11 seconds on average. The target is to answer 90% of 999 calls in less than 10 secs — the figure for September was 89.5.
You can watch the meeting on YouTube here.
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