More crime recorded in Hartlepool

Cleveland Police recorded 11,856 offences in the town in the 12 months to March, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS) – an increase of nine per cent on the previous year, when there were 10,917.

At 126.3 crimes per 1,000 people, that was higher than the rate across England and Wales, which stood at 89.3.

Of the crimes recorded in the area over the last 12 months, 374 were sexual offences – an increase of eight per cent – and violent crime has risen in the area, from 4,123 to 4,629.

One of the main factors behind this increase was the rise in violence with injury, which rose by 22%, from 889 incidents to 1,082.

Theft offences also rose by 16% – with 3,269.

Crimes recorded in Hartlepool included:

*374 sexual offences – up eight cent.

*4,629 violent offences – a rise of 12%.

*1,422 incidents of criminal damage and arson – down four per cent.

*369 drug offences – down 23%.

*96 possession of weapons such as firearms or knives – a decrease of 36.

*1,244 public order offences – up 13%.

*3,269 theft offences, a rise of 16%

*1,874 stalking and harassment offences - up 10%.

Nationally, police forces in England and Wales recorded the highest number of crimes in 20 years – 6.3 million in the year to March 2022 - four per cent higher than the previous all-time high of 6.1 million in 2019/20.