Crime has fallen in North East Lincolnshire, official figures show

File photo dated 22/10/14 of a Police officer, as according to new figures, some of the UK's biggest police forces have recorded a rise in the number of violent homophobic crimes this year, with hundreds of assaults on gay and lesbian people reported to police so far in 2014 - including more than 300 in London alone. Scotland Yard recorded 1,073 violent homophobic offences between January and October, up from 1,007 in 2013 and 1,002 in 2012.

Crime has fallen over the last year in North East Lincolnshire, official police records reveal.

Humberside Police recorded 17,397 offences in North East Lincolnshire in the 12 months to September, according to the Office for National Statistics.

That was a decrease of 8% compared to the previous year, when there were 18,915.

At 109.2 crimes per 1,000 people, that was far higher than the rate across England and Wales, which stood at 82.4.

Crimes recorded in North East Lincolnshire included:

568 sexual offences, a slight increase on the previous year7,092 violent offences, a slight decrease on the previous year2,459 incidents of criminal damage and arson, down 7%373 drug offences, up 1%124 possession of weapons such as firearms or knives, up 1%2,286 public order offences, down 1%3,758 theft offences, down 26%2,564 stalking and harassment offences, up 15%

Around 5.8 million offences were recorded across England and Wales in the year to September – a 2% rise compared to the previous year – though there was a 1% drop to 4.9 million offences when excluding cases of fraud and computer misuse.

Police forces across the two nations logged the highest number of rapes and sexual offences in a 12-month period in the year to September, the figures show.

Around 63,100 rapes were recorded in the year to September, according to the Office for National Statistics, up 13% from the previous period (56,100).

This was the highest recorded annual figure to date and included 17,400 offences between July and September – the highest quarterly figure.

The ONS said the latest figures may reflect several factors, including the “impact of high-profile incidents, media coverage and campaigns on people’s willingness to report incidents to the police, as well as a potential increase in the number of victims”, and it urged caution when interpreting the data.

The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “Nobody should have to experience the horror of rape and other sexual crimes.

“It’s encouraging that more victims of sexual violence are coming forward, and we’ve been clear that police must raise the bar in handling such cases so victims know that they will be taken seriously and criminals responsible are put behind bars."