CRIME has fallen over the last year in Bolton amid an increase in recorded crime across England and Wales.

Greater Manchester Police (GMP) recorded 8,751 offences in Bolton in the 12 months to March, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

That was a decrease of 75 per cent compared to the previous year, when there were 35,370.

But many crimes are not included in the figures following the installation of GMP's new IT system iOPS last July.

At 31 crimes per 1,000 people, that was far lower than the rate across England and Wales, which stood at 89.

Crimes recorded in Bolton included:

  • 272 sexual offences, a decrease of 71 per cent.
  • 2,868 violent offences, a decrease of 74 per cent.
  • 882 incidents of criminal damage and arson, down 77 per cent.
  • 116 drug offences, down 71 per cent.
  • 119 possession of weapons such as firearms or knives, down 65 per cent.
  • 1,144 public order offences, down 77 per cent.
  • 2,995 theft offences, down 76 per cent.

Overall, police recorded three per cent more crime across England and Wales – there were almost 5.8m offences in the year to March.

This excludes crime recorded by GMP.

The increase was largely driven by rises in stalking and harassment and fraud and computer misuse, which both jumped by 12 per cent.

However, the ONS said stalking and harassment figures may have been affected by improvements in the way police record crime, which could explain the large increase.

The ONS also stated crime figures were largely unaffected by the coronavirus pandemic, as the period covered was mostly pre-lockdown.

But the National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC) says its own provisional figures, which cover the four weeks to July 5, show crime has fallen by 14 per cent compared to the same period last year.

This was the fourth update in crime trends the council has released since the beginning of lockdown restrictions, with this month's figures showing the smallest year-on-year drop so far.

Previous updates had shown recorded crime was down by 28 per cent for the four weeks to April 12, 25 per cent down for the four weeks to May 10, and 18 per cent down in the four weeks to June 7.

While marked reductions were seen in residential burglaries, rape, vehicle crime and shoplifting, incidents of domestic abuse rose by six per cent.

NPCC lead for crime, Chief Constable Andy Cooke, said: “The vast majority of the public continue to follow the rules in place to limit the spread of the virus, and as a result, we have seen sustained reductions in crime over the course of the lockdown period.

"It is no surprise that as more people are able to move around freely, we will begin to see movement towards previous levels. However, this is a gradual change."

Previous reductions in reports of rape appeared to be slowing, he added, suggesting they may soon return to 2019 levels.

He said: "This is likely to be a combination of increased opportunities for wider social contact and easing of restrictions, making it easier for victims to report rape and assault.

“Please report to us if you have been a victim of rape, assault or domestic abuse – wherever or whenever it happened.

"We will do all we can to investigate and there are many excellent organisations who can provide support and advice."