VIOLENT crime rose by 12 per cent last year to exceed one million incidents for the first time in England and Wales, according to figures published today.

An even bigger increase, of 15 per cent, was recorded for the most serious violent offences, including threats to murder, serious wounding, attempted murder and causing death by dangerous or careless driving.

The number of violent offences recorded by the 43 police forces in England and Wales topped the one million mark for the first time, while overall crime rose by 1 per cent.

The number of detections per officer fell from 10.7 to 10.4. The overall detection rate in England and Wales fell from 24 to 23 per cent — even though there is a record number of police officers.

In London and Avon and Somerset the rate was as low as 15 per cent and in Humberside — where the Chief Constable has been suspended — the figure was 19 per cent.

Overall recorded crime rose by 1 per cent to reach 5.9 million offences, but a separate British Crime Survey, in which householders were interviewed about their experience of crime, found a fall of 5 per cent to 11.7 million crimes.

The 5 per cent drop in British Crime Survey figures means that David Blunkett has already met one third of his target — announced in the Chancellor’s Comprehensive Spending Review ten days ago — to cut crime by 15 per cent by 2007.

Paul Wiles, director of statistics at the Home Office, said: “We have got 5 per cent, of the 15 per cent. Does that mean it’s easy because we’ve got 5 per cent in the bag? No it doesn’t. We think that if we do nothing crime will actually increase by something like 9.5 per cent.”

He insisted that neither the Home Secretary nor the Prime Minister had known of the existing 5 per cent fall when they announced their 15 per cent target. “The normal procedure is that ministers see these figures only just before release,” Mr Wiles said.

Mr Blunkett responded to allegations that the crime- cutting target had been been manipulated. He said: “The facts are very clear. I did not receive the figures published until two days after the July 12 spending review, in strict accordance with the rules put in place by this Government to ensure that ministers do not get significant advance access to unpublished figures.”

Mr Wiles hailed the further fall in crime, according to the British Crime Survey, as “an historical unique change”. The Home Office said that there had been no other comparable sustained fall in crime rates since records began in 1898. Mr Wiles added: “It is the longest period of falling crime that anybody can remember. I don’t care how old you are — you would have to be about 100 or something.”

With the Government beginning a drive against antisocial behaviour, Mr Wiles said that the British Crime Survey showed that it was an “urban myth” that antisocial behaviour was increasing and fear of crime rising.

The recorded crime figures showed a total of 1,109,017 violent offences in 2003-04, up from 991,603 the previous year. It included 955,752 offences of violence against the person, a rise of 14 per cent. Threats to kill were up 23 per cent to 22,232; serious wounding up 8 per cent to 19,358; racially aggravated wounding up 11 per cent to 4,840; and harassment up 26 per cent to 152,269.

Some of the increase in recorded violence is a result of changes in the way that police record offences.

There was little overall change in the number of firearms offences but there was an 18 per cent rise in the use of imitation weapons to 2,150 offences, and shotguns were used in 720 offences, up 7 per cent.

Sex offences rose 7 per cent to 52,070, including an 8 per cent rise in rape of women to 12,354 offences, and criminal damage rose 9 per cent to 1,205,576 offences. Burglary of houses and car crime continued to fall, by 8 per cent and 9 per cent respectively.

The British Crime Survey found burglary stable and car crime falling.

The proportion of people who said that there was a high level of antisocial behaviour in their neighbourhood fell from 21 per cent to 16 per cent.

Complaints of high treason rose from none to one. A Chelmsford man complained to police that George Galloway, at the time a Labour MP, had committed treason by saying in a broadcast that “the best thing British troops can do is refuse to obey legal orders”. Essex Police said that, under new victim-focused recording methods, they had recorded the offence because the man had reported it to them.

CRIMINAL TENDENCIES

• Since 1998 police have included common assault in recorded crime figures
  
  
• Since 2002 a crime is recorded if the victim reports it — unless police have evidence that it did not happen
  
  
• Economic good times bring more people on to the streets, visiting pubs and clubs
  
  
• CCTV is picking up more violent incidents
  
  
• Government is encouraging victims of harassment and domestic violence to report crimes

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