Hartlepool crime up by a third in a year, costing town £95million

House burglary and violence both saw big year on year increases, according to the latest figures that will be considered by officials later this week.

Police recorded more than 2,000 extra crimes between October 2014 to September 2015 compared to the previous year.

More than half of all recorded crime is people committing offences for personal gain such as shoplifting.

An annual report for the Safer Hartlepool Partnership says more than two thirds of all crime is down to repeat offenders to fund their drug and booze habits.

The estimated cost of crime to Hartlepool equates to around £1,032 for each person in the town.

Councillor Christopher Akers-Belcher, chairman of the Safer Hartlepool Partnership and council leader, said: “All public services – including the council – are grappling with significantly reduced budgets, but in spite of this, keeping the residents of Hartlepool safe and tackling crime and the fear of crime remains a top priority for us.

“The council and all the other Safer Hartlepool Partnership organisations will continue to work together as closely as possible to get the most effective use from our much reduced resources, with particular emphasis on tackling and preventing domestic abuse, theft, burglary, robbery and re-offending and continuing to provide a quality support service to those people who do find themselves a victim of crime.

“I would once again call on every Hartlepool citizen to support us in our work. Crime should have no place in our town and every one of us can play a role in helping to discourage it, report it and root it out.”

The partnership which is made up of the council, Cleveland Police, fire brigade, probation and clinical commissioning group, will meet on Friday to decide its priorities for the next year.

Its 2015 Strategic Assessment tells how cases of domestic violence rose by another 284 offences (46%) and sexual offences up by 85 incidents (89.5%).

The increases are said to be largely due to improvements in recording complaints and in the case of sex crimes, victims being more prepared to come forward.

But the report states the partnership expects domestic violence and acquisitive crime to go up again over the year.

It says: “It is anticipated that domestic related crime will continue to increase as victims and their families struggle to cope with added financial and emotional pressures brought about by the current economic situation ie. higher unemployment and welfare reform.”

Anti-social behaviour has fallen slightly by just over 5%, but the partnership says it remains a top priority for people in Hartlepool.

It is said to be directly linked to other problems such as drug dealing and alcohol abuse and a number of perpetrators have gone on to be jailed or awaiting trial.

The number of drug addicts in Hartlepool is said to be twice the national average, standing at with more than two thirds of users accessing treatment services.

And the estimated cost linked to alcohol misuse in Hartlepool is more than £30million or £383 per person.

The town is the 18th most deprived local authority area out of 326 nationally.

The Safer Hartlepool Partnership meeting is on Friday in Hartlepool Civic Centre at 10am.