The crime statistics for 2018 have today (Thursday, 18 July 2019) been published by the ONS and South Yorkshire has seen an overall 2% increase in crime, compared to an 8% increase nationally.

The main areas for crime to increase in South Yorkshire are violence against the person (19%), public order offences (6%), Robbery (5%) and a 2% increase in knife crime

Theft in South Yorkshire has decreased by 8%, criminal damage by 8% and sexual offences by 4%.

Dr Alan Billings, South Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner said: “We have been saying for some time that the cuts in funding over the past decade will sooner or later have consequences in terms of crime.

“Some statistics need careful explanation. For instance, figures for possession of a weapon have increased by 30% and drugs have increased by 28%. But this probably reflects greater police activity in these areas: more people are being targeted and arrested.

“This police action will continue this year as the force uses a recent grant of £2.5 million pound from the Home Office to target crime hot-spots. There will be more arrests and convictions as they focus on organised crime groups and disrupt them.

“The same applies to stalking and harassment, with an increase of 48%. This reflects the fact that more people feel confident in reporting these incidents to the police.

“What we do need to work together on is violence. Too many children are living in homes where domestic abuse is prevalent. For them, violence in relationships is the norm. Working with partners, we need to break this cycle of abuse.  This year we are setting up a Violence Reduction Unit to tackle violence in all its forms.

“Knife Crime has increased by 2%, but again this is lower than the national average of 8%. The Violence Reduction Unit will also address this issue in the long term.”

You can read the full report here.