Back in March 2021, Farsight predicted and prepared for a crime surge following the relaxation of lockdown in April. So, did the post-lockdown crime surge happen? Yes, it most certainly did and below we take a look at the reported crime statistics for England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
UKCrimeStats show that in July this year there were a total of 507,306 reported crimes, an increase of 7% compared to April’s 473,396. That’s an increase in reported crimes of a massive 33,862 ranging from Anti-Social Behaviour, Criminal Damage & Arson through to Burglaries and Robberies.
At the time of writing this article, August reported crime figures were not available, but as a leading remote CCTV and Alarm monitoring station, Farsight can gauge the crime trends fairly accurately. In August this year the Farsight monitoring team escalated a 6% more incidents to blue light services than we did in July – which indicated the post-lockdown crime surge is far from over!
At this time, crime prevention has never been more important and Farsight’s remote CCTV monitoring combined with audio deterrent warnings has proven great effectiveness in helping to stop theft incidents from progressing further. Farsight CCTV operators issued a staggering 7,774 audio warnings in August alone.
> Find out more about the 5 key benefits of monitored CCTV surveillance here.
How many UK crime incidents were reported in 2021?
From April to July 2021 there were 1,975,700 recorded by police across England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Let’s explore some of these reported crimes in a little more detail to see how they have increased since April:
Burglary – reported UK crime has surged since April 2021
Although according to police figures burglary numbers were down by 22% in 2020 compared to 2019, however, in 2021 that was not the case following lockdown restrictions being eased this April. Reported burglaries between April and July 2021 reached 68,013.
In April there were 16,294 burglaries reported and reaching highs of 17,394 in June and 17,274 in July.
Robbery – reported UK crime has surged since April 2021
In April there were 3,681 reported robberies rising to 4,214 in July. This puts the total amount of recorded robberies at 15,862 between April and July 2021. Robbery is not classified as a burglary, the difference being the threat or use of force to achieve theft of a person’s property. What is concerning is the apparent increase in the use of force or violence in theft raids targeting homes and businesses whilst they are occupied.. Incidents like these are becoming all too common:
> Dog looses an eye defending family as masked intruders burst into flat – Greater Manchester 2021
> Police want to speak to these four men after man attacked with baseball bat in burglary – Manchester 2021
> Hunt for man who pushed pensioner, 87, to floor in violent robbery – London 2021
> Teenage thug stabs man in opportunist and violent robbery – London 2021
> Darlington burglary victim left covered in blood after knife attack – County Durham 2021
…and the list goes on.
Violent home invasions and business raids have shown a significant surge over the past 12 months or so, with criminal gangs targeting businesses and homes of high net worth individuals across the UK. Read more about this in our published article: Keeping High Net Worth Individuals Secure as violent robberies surge.
A new ‘robbery trend’ to watch out for takes mugging to a new level by thieves dubbed by the Telegraph as ‘Highway Robbers’. Thieves are accosting people in the street and ordering them to transfer money online to ‘mule’ accounts, under threat of harm if they refuse.
Violent Crime – reported UK crime has surged since April 2021
Violent crime covers a variety of offences – ranging from common assault to murder. It also encompasses the use of weapons such as firearms. From April to July some 659,509 violent crime incidents were reported by police. There was a surge in violent crimes from 148,978 reported in April to 173,165 in July – that’s a 16% increase!
This increase follows reports that violent crime rates show continued rise in the UK, reported by the BBC.
Theft From Person – reported UK crime has surged since April 2021
Reported ‘Theft from the person’ incidents between April and July 2021 were a staggering 19,939, increasing from 4,163 in April to 5,500 in July.
‘Theft from the person’ is classified as theft (including attempts) of item or items (e.g. handbag, wallet, cash, phone) directly from the victim, but without the use of physical force against the victim, or the threat of it.
An example of this is pickpocketing, which surged following the relaxation of lockdown with more people out and about on the street. The London Borough of Wandsworth is just one of the many communities across the UK where police issued warnings after a surge in theft incidents which included items like mobile phones and wallets.
Vehicle Crime – reported UK crime has surged since April 2021
Farsight has extensively reported the sharp and sustained increase in vehicle crimes, targeting not only whole cars but car parts like catalytic converters and even LED headlights.
In 2020 we reported a whopping 74,769 cars had been stolen 2020. That’s an average of 205 vehicles being stolen every day 1 vehicle stolen every 7 minutes – read more here. But it is not just cars that are targeted by thieves..
Van thefts have also seen a 45% increase in a four year period with motorcycle thefts also seeing surges – MCN reported 92 motorcycles being stolen in Newcastle and Gateshead in just eight weeks.
In 2021, between April and July, 90,084 vehicle crime incidents were reported across England, Wales and Northern Ireland by UKCrimeStats.
When it comes to targeting car parts, amongst the hardest hit by opportunists and organised criminal gangs are motor dealerships and car showrooms with external forecourts. Monitored CCTV can be instrumental in detecting these incidents, deterring them where possible and raising the alarm to police for response – as in this example…or this one.
Bike Theft – reported UK crime has surged since April 2021
Cycling Weekly revealed that according to home and car insurer, Admiral, bike thefts increased by 66 per cent from March 2020 to February 2021, compared to the same period in the previous year. It seems that post-lockdown has added to this increase, rocketing from 5,531 reported bike theft incidents in April to 6,298 in July.
Total reported bike thefts between April and July 2021 amounted to a whopping 24,234. What is concerning is the increasingly desperate and sometimes violent measures thieves are resorting to to get their hands on bikes.
In June, a thief was filmed on CCTV using an angle grinder stole to cut of the bike lock to steal a Cannondale Quick Disc 5 bike in Islington. In other incidents, this time in Hampshire, two mountain bikes worth £3,000 were stolen from a car parked in a public car park in the New Forest and a Boardman Gravel bike was snatched from a 15 year old boy in Pennington.
Also in Hampshire, a Canyon Neuron CF 92020 bike was stolen from a home garage in Ringwood. Garages and outbuilding are often packed with valuable stuff, but often are poorly secured – providing easy pickings for unscrupulous bike thieves. This is not an isolated incident, however, and is the subject of the following article from Farsight :
> Read: Can your shed & garage security weather the crime surge?
Is it time to strengthen your security measures with a monitored alarm & CCTV solution?
With so many of us focussing on getting back to where we were before lockdown, thinking about security measures may not seem like a priority right now. However, with UK crime rocketing as it is now, there is no better time to rethink how optimising your security measures can help to protect what’s yours and to prevent becoming the next target for opportunist thieves and criminal gangs.
Monitored CCTV security has become a valued security measure trusted by many homes and businesses to protect their premises, assets and people.
As a leading CCTV monitoring station, awarded ‘Best Security Services Provider UK in 2020‘, we talk A LOT about the ‘proactive’ crime prevention benefits that monitored CCTV surveillance can deliver. We define these as – Deterrence, Detection, Prevention and Response.
However, CCTV camera footage of an incident can be vital in providing ‘retrospective’ benefits too. CCTV surveillance video footage can provide vital evidence that assists police investigations and even criminal prosecutions. In this article we explore these five key benefits that make CCTV monitoring such as an important component of modern security measures and policing in the UK too.
Why choose a monitored CCTV security from Farsight to protect what’s yours?
In recent years monitored CCTV surveillance has become an essential pillar of security delivering the ability to proactively prevent many crimes from progressing as well as retrospectively enabling crucial investigation of incidents that do progress despite the presence of the preventative security measures.
Proactive CCTV security: Deterrence through the presence of CCTV surveillance and prevention of incident progression with ‘front footed’ CCTV operator response which includes audio deterrent warnings and real-time escalation to keyholders and blue light first responders.
Retrospective CCTV security: CCTV footage can provide crucial evidence to support police and other emergency services in gathering evidence relating to an incident. This evidence can, under certain circumstances, be used in court to support prosecution.
Below we explore the top five proactive and retrospective security benefits of monitored CCTV surveillance in more detail…
> Read: Why choose monitored CCTV security from Farsight to protect what’s yours? Here’s five reasons…
So, how can remote CCTV monitoring help to prevent crime?
In our experience, combining CCTV monitoring with live, proactive audio warnings can be particularly effective in deterring security incidents before they progress. In fact, during 2020 Farsight CCTV alarm operators issued a mammoth 119,901 audio deterrent warnings and progressed almost 10,000 incidents to blue light services demonstrating a proactive security deterrent approach rather than a retrospective one.
As a leading UK based remote monitoring station, Farsight works with security systems installers, residential properties and business sites across the UK, to help protect their premises, assets and people with our range of security monitoring services. Our services Include:
We can help to protect what’s yours from theft, fire or malicious damage… we’d love to see how we can work with you to optimise your security…contact us below:
