Crime Log: December 2009

Release Date: 17 December 2009

Reassuringly total crime in October this year is down by 117 incidents versus October 08 with particularly good results in Tormohun (down by 52 incidents) and St Marychurch (down by 24 incidents) against same period last year.

Domestic burglary continues to see a decrease, down by 18 incidents with only 4 wards showing an increase of a total of 4 incidents. This is great news and shows that all the hard work and focus recently on targeting this kind of offence is paying off.

Vehicle crime has also been a focus for the Police and partner agencies over the last few months with particular activity in Not in my Neighbourhood Week last month. These figures are also showing a massive decrease in incidents; down 67 against last year’s figures.

Roundham with Hyde is showing a small spike in vehicle crime largely due to a spate of wing mirrors being damaged in the area. Neighbourhood teams responded with patrols in the immediate area and as a result the number of offences has fallen dramatically. Wellswood showed the biggest reduction in this category going from 20 incidents last year to only 3 this year, with St Marychurch and Shiphay with the Willows following closely with a combined decrease of 32 reports against the same period in 2008.

Theft from person has always remained a low number in Torbay with increases across the board at only 1 or 2 incidents per ward. Most wards show stable figures of none or 1 offence. The biggest increase is showing in Tormohun with 3 more incidents versus the same period last year.

The focus of our crime log this month is a contributor to our violent crimes figures. Reporting of domestic abuse across the bay is on the rise. For our Domestic Abuse team this is a positive change; not because there are more cases of domestic abuse but because it shows that more people have the courage in coming forward and reporting it.

There has been an enormous amount of effort in the last year focused around showcasing the work of the specialist domestic abuse services in Torbay. Recently launching their domestic abuse case study film, Safer Communities Torbay were also behind the Tee-shirt campaign to raise awareness of the true number of people who will experience domestic abuse in their lifetime, a shocking 1 in 4 women and 1 in 6 men.

And so to see an increase in the reporting of violent crime figures is no surprise. We are reminded that in Torbay there are very few violent assaults that take place where the offender is not known to the victim.

Partnership Inspector Glen Mayhew said; “The feedback from the recent Domestic Abuse Awareness Week has been incredible – people have been astounded by the reality of the figures. This kind of abuse has been a taboo subject in the past, especially amongst male victims. By raising awareness of it we are exposing it for the crime that it really is and can ensure that people are getting the help that they need. There are excellent services available in Torbay for victims and their families – we would urge anyone experiencing domestic abuse to get in touch and let us help.”

For information about Domestic Abuse services in Torbay please visit our Domestic Abuse pages.

• Crime Log
  Details of the crime level statistics for Torbay (December 2009).
  Last updated: 30/04/2010 (27 KB)