Overall crime down but robberies up in North YorkshireDomestic abuse rises in North Yorkshire

Domestic abuse has risen sharply in North Yorkshire — but police say this is mainly due to changes in methods of reporting.

Incidents of domestic abuse increased by 26 per cent in 2018/19 and by three per cent in 2019/20, according to latest crime statistics published by the Office for National Statistics yesterday.

But Detective Superintendent Allan Harder, of North Yorkshire Police, said this was largely down to the requirement to record multiple crimes where stalking and/or harassment has occurred, rather than simply one crime per incident. He said:

“Whilst we were hearing of this increased demand from our partners and in the national media, the number of domestic abuse incidents reported to North Yorkshire Police has remained level.

“Although victims have been seeking additional support, this is not associated with a significant rise in reported incidents.”

Fraud, which is one of North Yorkshire Police’s key priorities, has risen by 700 per cent since January 2019 but the force attributed this to people now reporting incidents directly to it rather than the agency Action Fraud.

A police spokesman said:

“Numbers of fraud incidents we are seeing each month since that time are staying fairly consistent.”

Just six murders occurred in North Yorkshire in the year ending June 2020. Only Bedfordshire, Dorset, Wiltshire and North Wales had fewer.

Burglary, theft, vehicle crime and criminal damage showed marked decreases, mainly due to the impact of the national lockdown on March 23.

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