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The number of sex crimes in Lancaster has risen over the last year.

Lancashire Constabulary recorded 448 incidents of sexual offences in the Lancaster district in the 12 months to December, according to the Office for National Statistics.

That was an increase of 21% compared to the previous year.

At 3.0 crimes per 1,000 people, that was in line with the rate across England and Wales, which stood at 3.1.

Lancashire Constabulary recorded 448 incidents of sexual offences in Lancaster in the 12 months to December, according to the Office for National Statistics.

Around 6.1 million offences were recorded across England and Wales in the year to December, including computer fraud and computer misuse.

This was up 8% from 5.6 million in 2020, but roughly the same number as recorded in the 12 months to March 2020, before the coronavirus pandemic.

The number of sex crimes logged by police across the two nations reached another record high in 2021.

Police forces recorded 183,587 rapes and sexual offences in the year to December 2021 – up 22% on 2020 (150,748), which was previously the highest annual figure to date.

Diana Fawcett, chief executive of the charity Victim Support, said she was "seriously concerned" by the latest figures.

She added: “Sadly, these figures reflect what we’re seeing – the number of sexual violence cases referred to us have increased by a third since before the pandemic.

“We also know that court delays for victims of sexual violence are at an all-time high – this is a worrying combination."

The ONS said the latest statistics may reflect a number of factors including the “impact of high-profile incidents, media coverage and campaigns on people’s willingness to report incidents to the police, as well as a potential increase in the number of victims”.

It said the overall number of crimes recorded were lower during lockdowns but that there were “substantial increases" from April 2021, with certain offence types returning to or exceeding pre-pandemic levels.

The total number of offences in Lancaster increased by 3%, with police recording 10,796 crimes over the year.

This puts the overall crime rate at 72.9 per 1,000 people, compared to a national average of 85.5.

Other crimes recorded in Lancaster:

*4,545 violent offences, a rise of 8%

*2,802 theft offences, down 7%

*1396 incidents of criminal damage and arson, down 3%

*110 possession of weapons such as firearms or knives, up 12%

*877 public order offences, up 21%

Steep rise in sex crime in Lancaster & Morecambe