Crime in East Lindsey has fallen in the last 12 months

Lincolnshire Police recorded 9,684 offences in East Lindsey in the 12 months to March, according to the Office for National Statistics.

That was a decrease of 16 per cent compared to the previous year, when there were 11,577.

At 68.3 crimes per 1,000 people, that was lower than the rate across England and Wales, which stood at 77.6.

Crimes recorded in East Lindsey included:

• 354 sexual offences, a decrease of 15 per cent

• 4,050 violent offences, a decrease of 13 per cent

• 1,143 incidents of criminal damage and arson, down 12 per cent

• 274 drug offences, down five per cent

• 80 possession of weapons such as firearms or knives, down 22 per cent

• 901 public order offences, down 11 per cent

•2,602 theft offences, down 26 per cent

• 1,433 stalking and harassment offences, up 26 per cent

Overall, police recorded 13 per cent fewer crimes, excluding fraud, across England and Wales, with around 4.6 million offences in the year to March.

The ONS said the annual drop was helped by a “substantial” fall in crime during April last year, when the first lockdown restrictions were introduced.

The number of recorded crimes increased between July and September, it added, before decreasing again as lockdown measures were imposed toward the end of last year. However, in March this year, recorded crime was higher than the previous year as the phased exit from lockdown started.

Billy Gazard, from the ONS Centre for Crime and Justice, said: “The coronavirus pandemic has had a significant impact on patterns of crime. There were large decreases in theft offences, such as domestic burglary and theft from the person, as more people stayed at home and limited social contact.”

But the figures did show a 28 per cent increase in stalking and harassment offences across England and Wales in the year ending in March, compared to the previous year.