Crime down by a third

27 August 2020

A 32 per cent fall in recorded crime during lockdown has been welcomed by the chair of Hertfordshire Police Federation.

However, Geoff Bardell has warned of an increase in crime figures as restrictions are eased.

New figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) released yesterday revealed that total crime, excluding fraud and computer crime, dropped by just under a third during April and May compared to a two-month average in the pre-lockdown period.

One area to buck the trend was drug offences with proactive police activity resulting in levels rising by 22 per cent in April 2020 and 44 per cent in May 2020 compared with April and May 2019.

Geoff said: “The opportunity for many crimes, for example, shoplifting were taken away by the closure of businesses and retail premises and the fact that the vast majority of people were staying within the confines of their own homes.

“During this time, officers were also able to be more proactive in dealing with some other types of offences so it no surprise that these new figures show such a significant drop in crime overall.

“However, we all need to be realistic. As lockdown restrictions start to ease and the country starts to return to a more normal way of living, we are going to see crime increase again.”

Key findings of the ONS study were:

• Underlying the reduction in crime were significant falls in theft offences, particularly domestic burglary and other theft of personal property
• Police recorded crime levels during the lockdown period were much lower than respective months in 2019, with 25 per cent less crime in April 2020 and 20 per cent less crime in May 2020 
• Reductions were seen across many types of crime, in particular, theft offences fell in April and May 2020 to almost half the level recorded in April and May 2019 
• Police recorded crime fell by 5 per cent in March 2020 compared with the previous month, followed by a larger 20 per cent decrease between March and April. In contrast, crime increased by 12 per cent from April to May, as the easing of lockdown restrictions began.

Ché Donald, the Federation’s national vice-chair, said: “We must not be lulled into a false sense of security, as the figures will inevitably rise again. The answer to this is that we still need more officers on the streets in order to drive crime down in the longer term and to keep the public safe. The much-promised Government uplift of police officers will assist with this, but it is yet to be felt by my colleagues and the public.”

He said he was highly encouraged by the finding that 91 per cent of adults who responded to the Telephone-operated Crime Survey for England and Wales (TCSEW) were satisfied with their local police officers. 

He added: “We have all read the recent negative media perceptions of policing so this overwhelming vote of confidence from the public will be appreciated by our members. This reflects the amazing work done by policing during the pandemic and the respect in which they are clearly held by the majority of the public.”