Sexual and violent crime a result of policing improvements, say Kent Police

 Canterbury’s dramatic sexual and violent crime increase is due to better police recording, Kent Police have said.

Recent crime statistics from police.uk have shown a shocking 73% increase in sexual and violent crimes within Canterbury city centre.

From December 2010 to December 2015, figures in offences such as rape, homicide, assault, sexual harassment and battery have almost doubled.

However, Kent Police have defended the alarming statistic by claiming that it is a result of better crime recording.

A Kent Police spokesman said: “Part of the increase is due to improvements in the way crimes are recorded by Kent Police. The force set out to enhance crime recording in 2013-14, which led to more crime reports being generated.

“Since the changes were made our crime recording process has been independently assessed (by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary) as one of the very best in the country with an accuracy rate of 96 per cent.”

They also suggested that the surge in sexual offences is due to victims being encouraged to come forward by the high profile coverage of certain sexual abuse cases in recent years.

“With regards to the increase in sexual offences, another factor has been the recent high profile sexual abuse cases which have given victims the confidence to report many historic offences. We have also run campaigns designed to encourage victims of domestic abuse to report their experiences, which can include both violent and sexual offences.

What do Canterbury residents think about this rise in sexual and violent crime and how it could be combatted?