Stats on crime during coronavirus lockdown in Warrington

But what effect has the Covid-19 lockdown had on the levels of criminality in Warrington over the past few months?

To find out, we have taken a look at the statistics listed for the town on the police.uk website.

And some of the results may surprise you.

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In fact, police in several parts of Warrington had their busiest month of any during the past year in either April or May.

And while other wards did have relatively low levels of crime, only one had its quietest spell of the 12-month period during lockdown.

In total, seven policing areas in the town had their highest number of crimes reported in one month since June 2019 amid the outbreak.

Fairfield and Howley, Latchford East and Penketh and Cuerdley all experienced spikes in April – with Appleton, Grappenhall and Thelwall, Lymm and Poplars and Hulme in May.

Hatton, Stretton and Walton was the only ward to record its lowest figure of reported crimes, which came during April.

This is how the coronavirus lockdown has affected crime levels in your area:

Appleton

May saw Appleton record its highest number of crimes for any month in the past year, with 59.

A total of 45 crimes meant April was ranked as third highest.

The area’s four most commonly reported crimes in May according to police.uk were:

1. Anti-social behaviour 23

2. Violence and sexual offences 22

3. Criminal damage and arson

4. Public order

Bewsey and Whitecross

While April saw the fourth highest number of crimes reported during one month since June 2019 with 243, May was the second lowest with 188.

The area’s four most commonly reported crimes in May according to police.uk were:

1. Violence and sexual offences 62

2. Anti-social behaviour 57

3. Public order 23

4. Criminal damage and arson 13

Birchwood

Birchwood had 73 reported crimes in April and 90 in May, putting them at fourth and eighth in a ranked list of the past 12.

The area’s four most commonly reported crimes in May according to police.uk were:

1. Anti-social behaviour 31

2. Violence and sexual offences 29

3. Public order 6

4. Burglary 4

Burtonwood and Winwick

April was joint third in terms of the busiest months for crime with 50, while May came in fifth with 49.

The area’s four most commonly reported crimes in May according to police.uk were:

1. Violence and sexual offences 20

2. Anti-social behaviour 13

3. Public order 10

4. Criminal damage and arson 3

Culcheth, Glazebury and Croft

April was the third quietest month of the year for police, with 56 reported crimes – but May was third busiest, with 89.

The area’s four most commonly reported crimes in May according to police.uk were:

1. Violence and sexual offences 43

2. Anti-social behaviour 22

3. Public order 10

4. Criminal damage and arson 5

Fairfield and Howley

April was the busiest month of the year for police in Fairfield and Howley, with 253 crimes having been recorded.

There was no let up in May either, which came second after 227 incidents were reported.

The area’s four most commonly reported crimes in May according to police.uk were:

1. Violence and sexual offences 78

2. Anti-social behaviour 76

3. Public order 27

4. Criminal damage and arson 15

Grappenhall and Thelwall

May had the highest number of crimes recorded in Grappenhall and Thelwall during the past year, with 48.

April was similarly busy for police, coming in second place with 44.

The area’s four most commonly reported crimes in May according to police.uk were:

1. Anti-social behaviour 19

2. Violence and sexual offences 16

3. Public order 4

4. Burglary 3

Great Sankey North

April had the second highest number of crimes reported in the year while May was joint fourth, with 33 and 25 incidents respectively.

The area’s four most commonly reported crimes in May according to police.uk were:

1. Violence and sexual offences 13

2. Anti-social behaviour 6

3. Criminal damage and arson 3

4. Public order 3

Great Sankey South

A total of 66 incidents in April saw the month ranked in joint third, with May in fifth with 65.

The area’s four most commonly reported crimes in May according to police.uk were:

1. Anti-social behaviour 27

2. Violence and sexual offences 21

3. Criminal damage and arson 5

4. Public order 4

Hatton, Stretton and Walton

April saw the joint lowest number of crimes in the ward for the past 12 months, with nine.

Meanwhile, May was fourth lowest after 12 incidents were reported.

The area’s four most commonly reported crimes in May according to police.uk were:

1. Anti-social behaviour 5

2. Violence and sexual offences 4

3. Bicycle theft 2

4. Criminal damage and arson 1

Latchford East

April and May were the busiest two months for police during the year looked at.

There were 133 crimes recorded in the area in April, and 122 in May.

The area’s four most commonly reported crimes in May according to police.uk were:

1. Violence and sexual offences 41

2. Anti-social behaviour 37

3. Public order 16

4. Criminal damage and arson 13

Latchford West

May had the second highest number of crimes reported with 82, while April was in joint fourth with 70.

The area’s four most commonly reported crimes in May according to police.uk were:

1. Violence and sexual offences 29

2. Anti-social behaviour 28

3. Public order 8

4. Criminal damage and arson 7

Lymm

May saw a joint high level of crime in the area, with 72 incidents reported during the month.

No data was available for the number of crimes in Lymm during April.

The area’s four most commonly reported crimes in May according to police.uk were:

1. Anti-social behaviour 33

2. Violence and sexual offences 19

3. Other theft 9

4. Public order 5

Orford

April saw the second highest number of crimes reported in Orford, with 127.

May was in joint third with 125.

The area’s four most commonly reported crimes in May according to police.uk were:

1. Anti-social behaviour 43

2. Violence and sexual offences 39

3. Public order 12

4. Other theft 9

Penketh and Cuerdley

April was the busiest month of the year for police in Penketh and Cuerdley, with 45 crimes recorded.

Meanwhile, May was in joint third with 42.

The area’s four most commonly reported crimes in May according to police.uk were:

1. Anti-social behaviour 19

2. Violence and sexual offences 11

3. Criminal damage and arson 6

4. Other crime 2

Poplars and Hulme

May had the highest number of crimes reported in Poplars and Hulme for any month of the year, with 176.

In April, there were 137 incidents – seeing the month ranked in fifth.

The area’s four most commonly reported crimes in May according to police.uk were:

1. Anti-social behaviour 67

2. Violence and sexual offences 62

3. Criminal damage and arson 17

4. Public order 14

Poulton North

April’s 111 incidents made it the third busiest month of the year for police, while May was joint fifth with 100.

The area’s four most commonly reported crimes in May according to police.uk were:

1. Anti-social behaviour 40

= Violence and sexual offences 40

3. Public order 6

4. Criminal damage and arson 5

Poulton South

In total, 33 crimes were reported in Poulton South in April – the joint fourth highest number of any month during the year.

But May was the second quietest month for police, with 21 incidents.

The area’s four most commonly reported crimes in May according to police.uk were:

1. Anti-social behaviour 11

2. Violence and sexual offences 4

3. Criminal damage and arson 3

4. Drugs 1

Rixton and Woolston

May was the second busiest month for police in Rixton and Woolston, when 63 crimes were reported.

But only 49 offences were recorded in April, making it the fourth quietest month.

The area’s four most commonly reported crimes in May according to police.uk were:

1. Anti-social behaviour 30

2. Violence and sexual offences 16

3. Public order 7

4. Burglary 4

Stockton Heath

May saw the joint second lowest number of crimes reported in Stockton Heath for the year, with 26.

April was ranked at sixth after 43 incidents were recorded.

The area’s four most commonly reported crimes in May according to police.uk were:

1. Violence and sexual offences 9

2. Anti-social behaviour 6

3. Shoplifting 5

4. Burglary 2

Westbrook

April had a joint second lowest number of crimes for the year looked at, with 40.

May was fifth lowest with 45.

The area’s four most commonly reported crimes in May according to police.uk were:

1. Anti-social behaviour 17

2. Violence and sexual offences 10

3. Criminal damage and arson 6

4. Other theft 4

Cheshire Police previously stated that crime dropped by 34 per cent between the start of April and mid-May.

But a ‘significant increase’ was seen in incidences of domestic abuse, which saw 450 arrests made during this period.

The force has also focused on road safety and burglaries at empty business premises, with a spate of break-ins having been recorded during April.

Cheshire Police’s assistant chief constable Jenny Sims said in May : “Our officers, staff and volunteers have worked tirelessly to protect the people of Cheshire over the course of the pandemic and this hard work will continue.

“However, criminals are still committing crime even under the current circumstances and our proactive policing approach has had a significant impact in Cheshire.

“This has ranged from operations targeting business premises and schools to prevent burglaries with the support of the special constabulary and increasing our use of stop and search across the county on those suspected of being involved in crime to stop checks on our roads catching travelling criminals and visits to known offenders and victims of domestic abuse.

“The results speak for themselves with many ongoing investigations, positive outcomes at court and vital support provided to victims.”