Robberies are soaring, new crime

figures reveal today.

They rose by 11 per cent across the country between July and September last year, compared to 2004.

And up-to-date figures show the crime has shot up by 19 per cent in parts of Bradford.

More than 23,000 robberies were recorded by police in England and Wales, following a four per cent rise during the previous quarter.

Robberies in West Yorkshire went up by just 0.3 per cent between April and September but sexual offences increased by 3.6 per cent and other violence, which includes incidents like children causing a nuisance or drunks being arrested, rose by 12.6 per cent in the county.

West Yorkshire Police said many such incidents did not involve direct violence and street patrols, targeting alcohol-related violence and late-night troublemakers, had meant more crimes being recorded.

In the Bradford North division, police recorded 44 robberies, of which 13 were detected, in the last three months of 2005, including 21 in December. The figure compared with 37 for the same quarter in the previous year, an increase of 19 per cent.

Between January 15 and 25 this year, five robberies were committed in the division, three of which have been detected.

In the year from April 2004 to April 2005, 147 robberies were committed in Bradford North. This year there have already been 151 up to January 22.

But the figures have decreased from the previous two years. There were 284 in 2003-4 and 460 the year before.

Superintendent Dave Oldroyd, of Bradford North Police, said the actual number of robberies were relatively small and the Bradford district had seen a large decrease in street robberies and other key crimes over a period of time.

He said: "We work very closely with our partners, particularly the Drugs Intervention Programme, schools and youth services, to target people who commit this type of offence.

"It is one of our priorities and we continue to combat this type of crime as best we can.

"Crime has a natural tendency to fluctuate. We are still committed to driving it down and improving the quality of people's lives."

Across West Yorkshire, total crime fell by three per cent between April and September, while detection rates rose by nearly five per cent. The biggest increase was in drugs offences, up 20 per cent, but the force says the figure was influenced by its pro-active work, including the Dob in a Dealer campaign pioneered in Bradford and Operation Constantine - the force's biggest ever offensive against drugs dens - which has seen search warrants executed across the Bradford district.

Burglaries were down by 19 per cent, thefts of vehicles plunged by 27 per cent and there was a 14.5 per cent drop in thefts from vehicles.

Chief Constable Colin Cramphorn said the force had worked hard to reduce crime and the trend was continuing.

He said: "While this is more good news, the trend is generally tailing off and we are in challenging times. We remain focused on performing well and ensuring a good quality of service."

According to the British Crime Survey, based on interviews with the public in the year to September, firearms offences rose by one per cent, to more than 11,000, mainly due to the use of imitation weapons, but violent crime remained stable.

In West Yorkshire, firearms offences dropped in the year to September by 20 to 447 and fatal shootings fell from five to two.

The BCS showed that fewer people in West Yorkshire were worried about car crime, burglary or violent crime than in similar sized forces. The number of people who thought West Yorkshire Police were doing a good or excellent job went up from 65 to 71 per cent.