New crime stats showing Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland remains one of the safest force areas in the East Midlands have been welcomed by Police and Crime Commissioner Rupert Matthews.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has published its Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) which shows how crime rates have changed in the 12 months up to March 2023 compared to the year up to March 2022.

The report shows Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland compares favourably with other forces in the region and continues to outperform the national average across several crime categories.

When comparing crimes per 1,000 population, Leicestershire has the lowest rate of Violence Without Injury offences at 11.4 per 1,000 population in the East Midlands region. It also beats the national average of 12.4 offences per 1,000 population. 

The area has also had the lowest rate of anti-social behaviour (ASB) incidents per 1,000 population for the past 15 years when comparing other forces in the East Midlands.

In other areas of performance, the force area saw a four per cent reduction in stalking and harassment offences - the largest percentage decrease in the East Midlands region alongside Nottinghamshire. It also outperforms the national average by three per cent.

Furthermore, sexual offences within Leicestershire have seen the largest decrease across the East Midlands with three per cent fewer offences compared to the previous year to date. The force again outperformed the national average.

Commenting on the figures, Mr Matthews said: "This data shows the outstanding progress being made to tackle the priorities that everyone wants to see addressed cross Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland.

"My Police and Crime Plan makes it clear that criminality of any kind will not be tolerated within our borders. As this survey shows, the force is consistently outperforming others in the East Midlands with the effect of making our streets and public spaces even safer. This is testament to the hard work of officers, staff and volunteers, members of my team and our partners, who sacrifice long hours to prevent crime, disrupt criminality and bring offenders to justice.

"As encouraging as these figures are, the work will continue. There are further improvements to be made and I will continue to support the Chief Constable with the necessary resources and capabilities to build on our success over the coming 12 months."

PCC Rupert Matthews has praised his team. Image credit: PCC.

The survey shows robbery offences within Leicestershire increased at the smallest rate in the East Midlands at six per cent (compared to a national average of nine percent).

Possession of weapons offences within Leicestershire have fallen by six per cent compared to the 12 months up to March 2022 - the largest decrease of all other force areas. This is a significant improvement on the regional average of +15 per cent. It also saw the largest decrease of all forces nationally in the number of firearm offences (excluding air weapons) by police force area with a 31 per cent decrease compared to the year up to March 2022. 

Meanwhile, Leicestershire has the lowest rate of shoplifting offences per 1,000 population when compared to the rest of the East Midlands forces at a rate of 4.1 per 1,000 population.