The number of reported crimes in the South Hams has risen sharply this year, according to official police figures.
On average, there are now about 140 crimes being reported in the South Hams every fortnight, with domestic violence, anti-social behaviour and shoplifting causing the biggest concerns.
In the case of the Totnes Town area, crimes jumped from 25 reported cases in May 2023 to 80 in April this year, with ‘criminal damage and arson’ being the most reported offence with 19 cases, followed by theft (14). There were also 12 cases related to violent and sexual offences.
Ivybridge, the biggest town in the South Hams with a population of 11,851, came second with 55 reported crimes in April, up from 20 in less than a year, with 28 violent and sexual offences being the most widely reported crime.
Dartmouth and Kingsbridge, which are towns with roughly the same populations, rated similarly with 23 and 22 reported crimes respectively during the same period.
By contrast Salcombe, the smallest of the five, had the lowest number of reported crimes (10 cases), although the rate had also increased from almost a year ago.
The four bigger towns also had separate data for the wider surrounding areas, and these also reflected the upward trend.
Significantly, crime rates – particularly related to shoplifting - soared in December in the run-up to Christmas in all five towns, with the rate generally falling steadily at the start of the year before rising again.
Benjamin Shardlow, Police Inspector for South Hams, said there was “no standard answer” to explain the rise in crime but added that the introduction of new software last year had changed the way offences were being reported.
He said: “Historically, if you were going to record an assault, on the old system that might also include a public order offence, but with the new system we would record more than one crime - that fluctuates the figures.”
He said a more pro-active force and a rise in the reporting of crimes online by the public had also made an impact. Crime gangs from other parts of the country and repeat offenders from outlying areas such as Torbay were also influencing crime figures.
For her part, Police and Crime Commissioner Alison Hernandez stressed that the area “has some of the lowest recorded crime rates in the country” but added: “We do know that proactive and visible policing, which I wholeheartedly support, can lead to higher crime rates.
“I joined a high visibility patrol in South Devon last week and during a couple of hours police made two arrests for people who had failed to attend court. I am fully supportive of Acting Chief Constable Jim Colwell’s drive towards greater community policing efforts and this, combined with the fact that we now have record police officer numbers, may result in increases in the levels of recorded crime as more is detected and reported.
“I will be happy to see increases of recorded crime in the force if it means more of those who blight our communities with drugs and antisocial behaviour are apprehended.”
Despite the rise in reported cases, figures show that the crime rate in South Devon and Dartmoor in the year ending December 2023 was lower than that across similar areas, including East and Mid Devon.
However, data from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) released in January show that crime rates in Devon and Cornwall shot up by more than 10 per cent in the last year, although the figure was lower than the 12.3 per cent reported nationally.
Across England and Wales, the most recent Home Office data shows that recorded crime levels increased by five per cent in the year ending March 2023 compared to the same period in 2022, with 5.5 million offences.
