NEW figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show an 18.8 per cent increase in crime in Wiltshire and Swindon.

Chief officers at Wiltshire Police have said that this is an expected outcome of the greater focus the force has put on accurate crime recording.

Across the country, 39 of the 43 forces have seen increases in recorded crime and the figures for Wiltshire Police are largely in line with national trends and other forces in the region.

The force has sought to reassure the public that the area remains a safe place to live and that the rise in recorded crime is a result of improved practices through its ‘#DidYouKnow’ campaign.

The police and crime commissioner for Wiltshire and Swindon, Angus Macpherson, said: “It is important to stress that these figures do not mean that crime in our area is up almost 19 per cent.

“What we know is that calls from the public for the services of Wiltshire Police have stayed stable and, in some categories, have gone down.

“What has changed, as we have been stressing over the past month in our ‘#DidYouKnow’ campaign, is that the force is now recording offences far more accurately than in the past.

“We are talking about offences which were, for example, recorded as anti-social behaviour which are now being more accurately recorded as, say, violence without injury.

“However, I am concerned at the increase in sexual offences, some of which will include offences against children.

“I am going to discuss this area with the chief constable because crimes like these have such a serious impact on victims.

“I think I need to allocate more resources to tackling such crimes in my next Police and Crime Plan.”

Wiltshire Police chief constable Mike Veale said the police had made “significant steps” to improve crime recording practices.

“Through training, reviews, audits and regular assessment we are now seeing the anticipated increase following these improvements in recording,” he said.

“While the number of recorded crimes has increased, this does not necessarily mean that the actual number of crimes committed has risen.”

The figures show a 153 per cent increase in recorded public order offences and a 72.5 per cent increase in recorded violence without injury, which accounts for 3,929 additional offences or two thirds of the total increase in recorded crime.

These figures are where incidents that may once have been recorded as anti-social behaviour are being more accurately categorised as crimes such as public order offences or violence without injury.