These statistics relate to the period October 2019 to September 2020, as compared with the period October 2018 to September 2019, across South Yorkshire.

Over this period all recorded crime in South Yorkshire fell by -3%, though this was less than the fall in the rest of Yorkshire and Humberside (-7%).

But there were increases and decreases within that overall figure.

Some of the biggest decreases included: burglary (-21%), theft (-19%) and knife crime (-3%).

Increases included: drug offences (+25%), public order offences (+21%) and stalking and harassment (+14%)

South Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner, Dr Alan Billings said: “While any fall in crime figures is to be welcomed, we do need to treat these figure with caution since for part of the year the country was in lockdown and many criminals were confined to home.

“Nevertheless I welcome falls in knife crimes (-3%), burglaries (-21%) and theft (-19%)in this period.

“A rise in certain recorded crimes, however, tells us something else. During this period South Yorkshire police have been very active tackling gangs and drugs – and this is reflected in the rise in recorded crimes for  offences such as those related to drugs (+25%).

“Similarly, rises in stalking and harassment may indicate a more proactive response by police.

“The figures I find most disturbing are those relating to violence against the person (+7%). Many of these will relate to domestic abuse. These are unacceptable crimes and one of the tasks of the Violence Reduction Unit that I set up just over a year ago is to try to understand why people are drawn to violence and see what all the agencies in South Yorkshire can do together to stop it. But this is a longer term project.

“If we are to see levels of crime brought down in South Yorkshire we need to restore the 500 police officers that were cut between 2010 and 2019 as a result of government cuts in grant. Among other things, that allowed criminal gangs to get established. In my budget proposals for the next financial year I plan to increase police numbers for all districts.”