Sex offences on the rise

All of you students stumbling back from Mozzas/Cellar Door/TP/Arena, watch out: latest figures recently released from Devon and Cornwall Police show a significant rise in sexual offences and violent crime.

The rate of sexual offences has risen by a whopping 11.7% in 2013 and reported rape was up from 678 crimes to 712.

Despite Exeter seeming so safe compared to real cities (like London), these figures have caused panic because, due to government budget cuts of £51 million, the force has suffered the loss of 400 officers and is expected to miss its target of 2% crime reduction.

The stumble home from town may not be as safe as we all think

Manager of the Devon Rape Crisis Service Fee Scott said “The figures are not surprising to us as we are aware how much sexual violence there is in our communities but it is difficult to know exactly what these figures could mean.

“It may be that more women are feeling confident in reporting these crimes to the police or it could mean that more actual crimes are being committed.”

Other figures showed that attacks in which no one was hurt leapt by 13.1% in the 12 months leading up to December last year, with public order offences rising by 18.4%.

Why don’t they just stick one of these outside TP?

Deputy Chief Constable Bill Skelly has urged people not to panic and said: “A small rise in crime in some areas does not make Devon and Cornwall less safe, but nonetheless, we have to constantly observe crime trends to reduce offences and work with our partners to deal with the root cause of them as soon as possible.”

However, such statistics have shown how ridiculous the previous council campaign to turn off our streetlights was and have left many wondering how Devon and Cornwall Police plan to keep our streets safe.