Mayor of West Yorkshire responds to latest ONS Crime Statistics

Responding to the latest ONS crime statistics to year ending December 2021, Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire, said: “I am concerned by and closely monitoring the increases we are experiencing in all areas, including violence with injury, sexual offences and stalking and harassment.

“Ensuring the safety of women and girls is something that I am personally committed to achieving and we must each work together in partnership to get there.

“We know that burglary, drug offences, robbery and vehicle offences have dropped and long may that continue. But we know the profound effect all these crimes have on communities and we need to do all we can to ensure our communities feel safe.

“I also recognise that changes in recorded crime will be influenced by lockdown restrictions and then the easing of these measures and will be speaking to the Chief Constable about the impact of these changes on different crime types.

“The West Yorkshire Violence Reduction Unit (VRU), which I oversee, is doing crucial work in tackling violent crime. It will receive £5.8 million in 22/23 to continue in its pioneering response to serious violent crime, with an added guarantee of funding for the next three years. A further £1.6 million has been made available by Government to support the operational response to knife crime in the county.

“It is also really important that we acknowledge the hard work undertaken by officers and staff during the unprecedented times we have faced during the pandemic, and I thank them for that.

“I continue to deliver on my commitment of 750 new frontline police officers and staff by 2024 and will be working closely with the Chief Constable, West Yorkshire Police, my Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime and other key partners to explore what more can be done locally to address these crime patterns and trends.”