Rise in violent crime in West Lindsey

But with no official crime statistics yet published for the coronavirus lockdown period, police chiefs say their own figures show overall crime remains far below normal levels.

Lincolnshire Police recorded 2,222 incidents of violent crime in West Lindsey in the 12 months to March, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

That was an increase of 28 per cent compared to the previous year.

One of the main factors behind the increase in West Lindsey was the rise in stalking and harassment, which rose by 66 per cent, from 407 incidents to 675.

Offences of violence with injury increased by three per cent and violence without injury by 28 per cent, reaching 623 and 922 respectively.

There were also two homicides, which include murders and manslaughters, up by one on the previous 12 months.

Other crimes recorded in West Lindsey included, 296 sexual offences, 1,868 theft offences, 762 incidents of criminal damage and arson, 104 drug offences, 49 offences of possessing weapons such as firearms or knives and 406 public order offences.

The total number of offences in West Lindsey increased by two per cent, with police recording 5,864 crimes over the course of the year.

This puts the overall crime rate at 61.8 per 1,000 people, compared to a national average of 88.9.

Overall, police recorded three per cent more crime across England and Wales – there were almost 5.8 million offences in the year to March – although this figure excludes crime recorded by Greater Manchester Police, whose data was compromised after the installation of new IT software.

The increase was largely driven by rises in stalking and harassment and fraud and computer misuse, which both jumped by 12 per cent.

However, the ONS said stalking and harassment figures may have been affected by improvements in the way police record crime, which could explain the large increase.

The ONS also said crime figures were largely unaffected by the coronavirus pandemic, as the period covered was mostly pre-lockdown.

However, the National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC) says its own provisional figures, which cover the four weeks to July 5, show crime has fallen by 14 per cent compared to the same period last year.

Chief Constable Andy Cooke, NPCC lead for crime, said: “The vast majority of the public continue to follow the rules in place to limit the spread of the virus, and as a result, we have seen sustained reductions in crime over the course of the lockdown period.

"It is no surprise that as more people are able to move around freely, we will begin to see movement towards previous levels.

"However, this is a gradual change.”

Mr Cooke added that previous reductions in reports of rape appeared to be slowing, suggesting they may soon return to 2019 levels.

He continued: “This is likely to be a combination of increased opportunities for wider social contact and easing of restrictions, making it easier for victims to report rape and assault.

“Please report to us if you have been a victim of rape, assault or domestic abuse – wherever or whenever it happened.

"We will do all we can to investigate and there are many excellent organisations who can provide support and advice.”