Suffolk figures show county continues to be one of safest places to live
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Suffolk is in the top three counties in England and Wales where people are least likely to be victims of crime, according to figures released by the Office of National Statistics (ONS).
The total recorded crime covering the 12 months to the end of June 2024 show that there were 59.9 crimes per 1000 people, a decrease of 7.4% compared to the previous 12 months. The national year on year decrease for England was 3.8%.
The figures saw further drops in crime types across the board with knife crime, stalking and harassment, public order, robbery, theft and drug offences, as well as violence against the person, sexual offences and residential burglary among those seeing a decline.
Based on the ONS figures, Suffolk Constabulary is ranked third for the lowest levels of recorded crime in the country. The latest figures show continued improvement. The last set three months ago put Suffolk ranked as fourth lowest and just under four years ago, Suffolk was in 13th position in terms of its crime levels.
Deputy Chief Constable Rob Jones said: “As I have said previously, we need to be very alive to the fact that for the victim of every crime committed they will be experiencing personal upset. If you have been the victim of crime my sympathies are with you and we remain determined to give a high level of service to victims.
“Declining levels of recorded crime do nothing to alleviate the personal trauma and distress victims of crime experience, but to add some context, in the period covering December 2019 to December 2020 the force was ranked 13th in the country – we are now third. That clearly shows the progress we have made in recent years – both the work of our officers and staff, but also the support and assistance we receive from the public which is absolutely vital.
“Crime statistics don’t give the full picture of a local policing service. However, our new operating model launched last December is based on the principal of officers being where people need them to be, when they are needed the most.”
There was a marginal increase in theft offences and a slight rise in vehicle offences as well as burglary, shoplifting and non-residential burglary.
DCC Jones added: “Shoplifting continues to see a rise, but businesses should feel reassured we remained committed to this area of work. Our recent Retail Crime Forum, organised by Suffolk Police with retailers, businesses and business improvement districts attending, demonstrated our continued drive to explore how we can work collectively with to forge closer links, increase the understanding of the crimes that affect businesses and the sharing of information to target offenders.
“In terms of burglary, although these have risen slightly when comparing year on year, it is against long term sustained reduction.
“For residential burglary, there has been a 47% decrease when comparing to the 12 months to June 2020, while comparing the same period for non-residential burglary there has been a 28% decrease.
“Our priority remains improving detection rates for victims and we are always looking to make sure our detectives have the right investigative skills for the modern age.
“The initial response is vital including gathering forensics, house to house enquiries and searching through CCTV.
“All residential burglaries in the county are subject to review by Crime Scene Investigators to maximise the recovery of crucial physical evidence from crime scenes. Any evidence recovered, particularly fingerprints or DNA, is treated as urgent with results being made available to investigators as soon as possible.
“Crime prevention is also important and it’s important where possible Suffolk residents play a role in investing in security measures such as CCTV, doorbell cameras and alarms.”
“As always, we remain grateful for the support from Suffolk residents which is demonstrated every time we appeal for help to prevent crime or catch criminals. Just as important is the help and support from our partners across the county who we will continue to work closely with to ensure the county overall remains a safe place.”
Tim Passmore, Police and Crime Commissioner for Suffolk, said: “These are a very positive set of statistics which again show Suffolk as one of the safest places in the country to live and work, and where people are least likely to be victims of crime.
“I appreciate these statistics may be little consolation to anyone who has been a victim of crime, but it is good news for Suffolk as a whole and a credit to Suffolk Constabulary officers and staff who work hard to reduce crime and keep us all safe.”
% change (June 2023 – June 2024):
Knife crime: -37.5%
Bicycle crime: -24.1%
Stalking and harassment: -24.1%
Public order: -18.4%
Robbery: -14.6%
Theft from person: -12.1%
Drug offending: -12.1%
Violence against the person: -10.6%
Sexual offences: -4.5%
Domestic burglary: -3.8%
Criminal damage/arson: -2.2%
Possession of weapons: -1%
Theft: +0.2%
Vehicle offences: +1.4%
Burglary: +2.3%
Shoplifting: +7.7%
Non-residential burglary: +12.4%
Suffolk’s national ranking for lowest levels of recorded crime:
June 2023 – June 2024 – 3rd
March 2023 – March 2024 – 4th
Dec 2022 – Dec 2023 – 4th
Sept 2022 – Sept 2023 – 5th
June 2022 – June 2023 – 6th
Dec 2019 – Dec 2020 – ranked 13th
The figures do exclude fraud.