CRIME statistics for Tavistock over the past year have increased by 25%, it was announced by police.

At the Tavistock Town Council meeting last Tuesday (October 17) town PCSO Kevin Williams updated councillors on issues relating to the town, which included the increase in crime statistics.

Last week, the Office of National Statistics (ONS) released its crime figures for the period of 12 months to June 2017 which showed an overall rise in recorded crime in Devon and Cornwall.

Due to changes in crime recording standards and the implementation of new practises, the levels of recorded crime has risen for each of the 43 police forces in England and Wales.

PCSO Williams said: ‘Police are logging a lot more than they used to — especially with internet crime reports, which include people slandering and being abusive on social media, as this all goes down as a violent crime and is logged on to our system. With this crime we have seen a 50 per cent rise in that type of offence.

‘We are also targeting a lot of drug users in the town. We have seen a 170 per cent increase through stop and searches in and around the town, and we are looking for members of the public to report any issues or information surrounding this issue.’

In response to the ONS figures, deputy chief constable James Vaughan said: ‘We must stress that crime figures only represent a minor part of what we as a police force actually do; around 80 per cent of our business is not crime related.

‘One area of crime that has seen a major rise in the recording is in the reporting of sexual offences. Following changes to our recording practices implemented in light of the recent crime data integrity report, more sexual offences are being recorded at the first point of contact, instead of the previous practice of being recorded once an officer had met with the victim.

‘This change in recording practice has seen a significant increase in the number of sexual offences the force are recording and is also a reflection of the hard work we as a force have undertaken in recent years to help give confidence to victims that they should come forward and report these crimes to the police.

‘We have also seen a notable increase in the recorded numbers of violence against the person, this is due to the new malicious communications act and covers online harassment which is now recorded as violent crime rather than as a telecommunications offence.

‘I remain confident that not only are my staff and officers working hard to protect and serve our public, but Devon and Cornwall remains a safe place to live, work, and visit, and that the likelihood of becoming a victim of crime is still very low.’