Bolton: The crimes recorded in Bolton

Greater Manchester Police recorded 36,775 offences in Bolton in the 12 months to June, according to the Office for National Statistics.

At 127.6 crimes per 1,000 people, that was far higher than the rate across England and Wales, which stood at 91.3.

It is worth noting that the crime rate doesn’t take into account that there are more crimes are being reported in certain areas and recorded more accurately by Greater Manchester Police following the pandemic.

A house raider in Great Lever as part of Operation Avro

Crimes recorded in Bolton included:

• 1,172 sexual offences
• 14,527 violent offences
• 3,329 incidents of criminal damage and arson
• 601 drug offences
• 360 possession of weapons such as firearms or knives
• 5,618 public order offences
• 9,871 theft offences
• 5,509 stalking and harassment offences

A woman was arrested in Halliwell as part of Operation Avro

Whilst both Mark Logan MP for Bolton North East and Chris Green MP for Bolton West have said they will continue to make sure that communities remain safe, they have also highlighted the most recent work to tackle crime.

Mr Green said: “The chief constable of Greater Manchester Police has taken a far tougher approach on dealing with crime compared with his predecessor.

“This has led to the custody suite in Bolton being re-opened and it being full almost every day since it has been open.”

He also said he wasn’t surprised that some crimes had increased, and that “it reflects how much more seriously the higher echelons are taking concerns”.

He added: “I’m writing to the chief of police to get a better understanding of these figures and to ensure that he is focussed on keeping us safe.”

Mr Logan said: “The Greater Manchester Police force has now been bolstered by an extra 804 officers to help crackdown on crime, part of the Government's drive to hire 20,000 more police officers and make our streets, up and down the country, safer. 

“I'll continue to work with our excellent local police teams in Bolton to get as much support on the ground to prevent these awful crimes."

Acting District Commander Chief Supt Steph Parker is joined by Cllr Mudasir Dean, ACC Scott Green, Cllr Martyn Cox, Tony Oakman, Andrew Bolan and Phil Mykytiuk

On the other hand, Bolton’s South East MP Yasmin Qureshi says she is “incredibly concerned” about the figures, particularly for working people in the area battling crime.

She also criticised the cuts that had been made to reduce police in Bolton and across the country.

Ms Qureshi said: “Recent statistics on the crime rate in Bolton are incredibly concerning and make for worrying reading for working people in our area, so many of whom are blighted by crime.

“This is no accident though – since 2010 the Tories have cut 20,000 police officers and our justice system is at breaking point as the courts backlog grows both locally in Bolton and nationally throughout Britain.

“Labour would introduce community policing hubs and properly support our local communities with an increase of police officers to the tune of 13,000.”

This is only the second time Greater Manchester Police have been able to supply data at community safety partnership level since its implementation of a new IT system in July 2019 – meaning no comparison to the year before is possible.

The data is according to the Office for National Statistics.

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