Town Centre Crime “Down 9.2%”

The Town Centre Forum were told by Inspector Mark Williams that there has been a 9.2% reduction in town centre crime (July 2011 VS 2012), plus a 15.7% reduction year to date compared with 2011.

This translates to 108 fewer crimes, or victims of crime.

However there was a 47% increase in town centre (non shoplifting) theft, but with the small numbers involved one or two extra crimes could see a Massive Number Increase occur. This is best highlighted with a burglary on High St in 2011, however none in comparable month in 2012. Is that a 100% drop in 2012, or 100% increase in 2011?

Media perceptions of the town were highlighted, with a comment made to the Leader asking them to focus on positive figures rather than the negative.

We wrote about the new crime stats that were released over the weekend, and although we cant pinpoint the exact definitions of town center crime it is the likely source for the data. You can read the full article here, plus it contains links and a quick guide on how to use the Police.UK crime maps.