NEW data has revealed offence figures have returned back to pre-pandemic levels - with police making 11,200 arrests in the process. 

Looking at the percentage change from 2022 to 2023, the total recorded crime in Cumbria (excluding fraud) had increased by 5 per cent. 

Over the course of the figures, Cumbria Police have received nearly 72,000 999 calls; nearly 114,000 101 calls; made more than 11,200 arrests; and attended more than 66,000 incidents.

Assistant Chief Constable Dave Stalker said: “After a drop in recorded crime during the onset of the pandemic, numbers have now returned to approximately the same levels as pre-pandemic.

"While any rise in crime obviously causes us concern, it is in line with a national increase – and also reflects a rise in some key offences where any increase shows the work we carry out and the messages we give out are having results.

“For instance, there has been a rise in sexual offences. These are offences that are typically under-reported and we are always calling for people to report these crimes. An increase in these offences shows people have increased confidence to come forward," he said. 

1,726 sexual offences were recorded in the past year, up by 1 per cent.

Possession of weapon offences increased by 80 per cent compared to last year. 

There were a total of 462 offences recorded, compared with 256 by March 2022. 

A large proportion of this rise, Cumbria Police say is because there has been the creation of new offences in legislation that did not exist before.

An initiative held earlier this year, Op Spectre, aimed to remove ‘potentially dangerous and harmful blades’ from the streets and sees amnesty bins set up at police stations for people to dispose of knives anonymously and safely.

As of May 26, over 70 blades had been handed in as part of the national attempt to curb knife crime. 

Incidents of recorded shoplifting were also up by 17 per cent on the year before, robberies by 2 per cent and theft offences by 16 per cent.

Vehicle offences had also increased by 29 per cent and bicycle thefts by 28 per cent. 

Drug offences have increased by 18.6 per cent.

“Offences are reported when we catch drugs offenders – so this type of increase means we are catching more drug dealers and traffickers.

“What is pleasing to see in the end-of -financial-year figures is a large-scale drop in anti-social behaviour, with a reduction of 23.6 per cent.

“This is an issue that is of huge importance to our communities and to see the hard work carried out in your neighbourhoods result in figures like this is testament to the dedication of our officers and staff.

"Neighbourhood policing teams work closely with partners and our communities daily to tackle the issues impacting our communities, which has led to the reduction of anti-social behaviour in Cumbria.  

“As well as responding and investigating anti-social behaviour, a great deal of work is carried out by our local policing teams to prevent incidents occurring. 

“During the time covered by the figures, we have gone through a significant restructure to drive our performance, leading to proactivity and productivity increases in a number of key areas. 

“There have also been changes to how we deal with certain offences.

“We ensure every residential burglary where a person’s home is entered is attended by a police officer and is allocated to detectives in our CID teams, so they get these officers’ specialist expertise from the outset.

“All robberies are investigated by a detective.

“During this time the figures cover, demand on the force continued to be significant.

“There were nearly 72,000 999 calls made into our command room; nearly 114,000 101 calls; we made more than 11,200 arrests; and attended more than 66,000 incidents.

“Cumbria Constabulary is among the best performing forces in the country for call answering times on both its emergency 999 calls and non-emergency 101 calls.

“We are also responding to calls quicker, ensuring we can capture evidence at a greater speed.

“All this is monitored and reviewed under our new governance structures.

“Our dedicated officers and staff work hard to ensure Cumbria remains one of the safest places to live in the country and the force remains one of the top performing forces," Assistant Chief Constable Dave Stalker added. 

Overall, Cumbria Constabulary recorded a total of 38,912 crimes in 2023.

It was a slight increase from 38,200 crimes recorded pre-pandemic.