Violent crime on the rise
7:02am Sunday 28th January 2007 in News By Paul Keaveny
VIOLENT crime is rising across Greater Manchester, according to new police statistics.
Quarterly figures from July 2006 to September 2006, compared to the same period last year, show an 8.3 per cent increase in violent crime.
This is despite an overall drop of 11.5 per cent in all crime over the last five years, with 43,484 fewer crimes being committed this year.
The quarterly figures also show a 12.6 per cent increase in robberies with 220 more robberies committed, a 19.7 per cent increase in theft from motor vehicles with 1,588 more offences committed and an overall 1.6 per cent increase in crime with 1,251 more crimes committed.
Assistant chief constable Ian Seabridge said: "Over the last five years, Greater Manchester Police and its partners have been steadily cutting crime, with an overall 11.5 per cent decrease.
"In the second quarter of last year, July 2006 to September 2006, burglary and theft of motor vehicle has continued to decrease. However, during this period there has been an increase in some crimes in Greater Manchester."
He added: "Greater Manchester is a complex area to police with a large transient population and crime such as robbery and burglary are a challenge for us.
"I can assure people that we are doing everything we can to drive them down."
He added that vehicle crime has increased because of items like MP3 players, laptops and satellite navigation systems being more available.
