Crime has risen over the last year in Bath and North East Somerset, official police records reveal.
Avon and Somerset Constabulary recorded 12,299 offences in Bath and North East Somerset in the 12 months to March, according to the Office for National Statistics.
That was an increase of 17% compared to the previous year, when there were 10,540.
However, at 62.6 crimes per 1,000 people, that was far lower than the rate across England and Wales, which stood at 89.3.
Of the crimes recorded in the area over the last 12 months, 460 were sexual offences – an increase of 37% from the year before.
Meanwhile, violent crime has risen in the area, from 3,541 to 4,520 over this period.
One of the main factors behind this increase was the rise in violence with injury, which rose by 46%, from 836 incidents to 1,223.
And theft offences rose by 14%, with 3,707 incidents recorded in the 12 months to March.
At 18.9 crimes per 1,000 people, that was lower than the rate across England and Wales, which stood at 25.1.
Crimes recorded in Bath and North East Somerset included:
- 460 sexual offences, a rise of 37%
- 4,520 violent offences, a rise of 28%
- 1,293 incidents of criminal damage and arson, up 2%
- 221 drug offences, down 33%
- 49 possession of weapons such as firearms or knives, a decrease of 11
- 1,709 public order offences, up 16%
- 3,707 theft offences, a rise of 14%
- 1,528 stalking and harassment offences, up 23%