LIKE every aspect of society, crime has been affected significantly in the last year amid the coronavirus restrictions.

General crime such as robbery, other violent offences and burglaries have fallen in the last 12 months while the rules have been in place.

But there have been other types of crime that have increased such as speeding.

After the first lockdown at the end of March last year, Prime Minister Boris Johnson told the country to stay at home.

With many employees forced to work from home, traffic levels shrunk leaving more space on the roads for motorists using them for “essential travel”.

And some of them decided to break the speed limits on a regular basis.

Hotspots in Bolton witnessed speeding on a daily basis.

Tonge Moor Neighbourhood Watch regularly recorded excessive speeding on Ainsworth Lane – a 20mph limit road – with one driver reportedly clocked at 74mph last May.

Chief Insp Matt Bailey-Smith of the police's safer transport team, later declared Bolton was the force’s biggest area of concern for road safety.

And in response to an increase in serious crashes, Bolton police launched Operation Portman in late 2020. In the months either side of Christmas 564 drivers were reported for allegedly committing a range of motoring offences as extra resources were used on enforcement.

Covid-19 regulations have also added a significant burden to officers’ workloads and Bolton has been hit harder than most. The town had the highest infection rate in the country in September and a 'Covid cell', headed by Sgt Phil Brown, was set up. The unit worked with the council and the hospital to crackdown on areas where high rates were reported.

“When there is a clear and blatant disregard to the rules we are issuing notices”, Sgt Brown said. As restrictions eased slightly after infection rates dropped, general crime rose with more pressure placed on police. But coronavirus breaches remain a major concern.

In March, Supt Steph Parker said 771 fixed penalty notice (FPN) fines had been issued in Bolton, with only City of Manchester police handing more FPNs out across the region.

Fraud has been on the rise in last year too with some criminals using the virus to try and exploit potential victims.

Last June, Action Fraud revealed that the amount of suspected scam calls from Bolton numbers had doubled from 176 between June 2017 and May 2018, compared with 343 from June 2019 to May 2020.

As well as phone calls, cyber crime has spiralled with residents reporting different methods that crooks have used to try and get access to their personal details such as bank information.

With the government's "roadmap" to lift restrictions on track, police are getting ready to deal with more general crime.

National Police Chiefs' Council chairman Martin Hewitt added: “As the rules change in the coming days, weeks and months, we can expect crime, including violent crime, to return to pre-lockdown levels."