THE Office for National Statistics yesterday released the latest national crime figures which show that the reduction in crime continues at a steady pace.

Wiltshire’s crime continues to decrease and is down by 1.25 per cent which means 413 fewer victims of crime.

The statistics cover the period July 2013 to June 2014 in comparison to the same period the year before.

The Force is the sixth lowest nationally for overall crime and remains third lowest for dwelling burglary rates, having reduced by 14 per cent compared to a national average of 7 per cent reduction.

Violence against the person continues to rise with Wiltshire seeing a 15 per cent increase. This is in line with the national average. Wiltshire Police remain committed to tackling night time economy issues and encouraging victims of domestic violence to come forward to enable the police to continue to understand and reduce violence within the county.

Sexual offences have increased by 18 per cent, however, this is in line with national figure of 21.5 per cent. The increase has most likely been affected by improvements to recording practices, which have improved and the impact of some of the high profile cases nationally.

Chief Constable Pat Geenty said: “Although the Crime Statistics remain steady and overall crime continues to drop, we will be looking at the areas that have continued to rise such as violence against the person and sex offences. The Force has improved recording practices and I am certain this is a factor in the rise in recorded sex offences. The improvements made are how the police record crime has been a national issue but we continue to review and check our data so that we can have a true picture of crime in our county.

"I will continue to keep a close eye those areas to ensure that we are using the right tactics to tackle night time economy and serious crime across the county.”

The Police and Crime Commissioner for Wiltshire and Swindon, Angus Macpherson, said: “We were expecting to see a rise in reported crime in some areas, such as sex offences due to the improvements made in recording practices. The work the Force has undertaken will ensure that the figures the public see are an accurate reflection of crime in our county.

"We have also been doing a lot of work to improve the public’s confidence in reporting crime. This, in conjunction with high profile publicity around sex offences would impact on the amount of reporting – if more victims feel brave enough to come forward than this is a good thing.

"It is my job to hold the Chief Constable to account for the delivery of policing. I continue to keep performance under review. It is encouraging to note that the overall number of victims of crime in Wiltshire continues to steadily fall. “