Crime on the rise in South Holland, 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 risen over the last year in South Holland, official police records reveal.

Lincolnshire Police recorded 5,810 offences in South Holland in the 12 months to March, according to the Office for National Statistics.

That was an increase of 7% compared to the previous year, when there were 5,449.

However, at 60.6 crimes per 1,000 people, that was far lower than the rate across England and Wales, which stood at 89.3.

Of the crimes recorded in the area over the last 12 months, 265 were sexual offences – an increase of 33% from the year before.

Meanwhile, violent crime has risen in the area, from 2,383 to 2,554 over this period.

One of the main factors behind this increase was the rise in violence without injury, which rose by 18%, from 830 incidents to 981.

And theft offences rose by 9%, with 1,593 incidents recorded in the 12 months to March.

At 16.6 crimes per 1,000 people, that was lower than the rate across England and Wales, which stood at 25.1.

Crimes recorded in South Holland included:

265 sexual offences, a rise of 33%2,554 violent offences, a rise of 7%603 incidents of criminal damage and arson, up 5%105 drug offences, down 38%46 possession of weapons such as firearms or knives, a decrease of 17451 public order offences, up 6%1,593 theft offences, a rise of 9%891 stalking and harassment offences, down 2%