Crime has fallen in Hillingdon, official figures show

File photo dated 22/10/14 of a Police officer, as according to new figures, some of the UK's biggest police forces have recorded a rise in the number of violent homophobic crimes this year, with hundreds of assaults on gay and lesbian people reported to police so far in 2014 - including more than 300 in London alone. Scotland Yard recorded 1,073 violent homophobic offences between January and October, up from 1,007 in 2013 and 1,002 in 2012.

Crime has fallen over the last year in Hillingdon, official police records reveal.

The Met Police recorded 23,705 offences in Hillingdon in the 12 months to March, according to the Office for National Statistics.

That was a decrease of 72 compared to the previous year, when there were 23,777.

And, at 76.7 crimes per 1,000 people, that was far lower than the rate across England and Wales, which stood at 89.3.

Of the crimes recorded in the area over the last 12 months, 693 were sexual offences – an increase of 33% from the year before.

Meanwhile, violent crime has risen in the area, from 7,455 to 7,849 over this period.

One of the main factors behind this increase was the rise in stalking and harassment, which rose by 9%, from 2,287 incidents to 2,483.

And theft offences rose by 4, with 9,266 incidents recorded in the 12 months to March.

At 30.0 crimes per 1,000 people, that was higher than the rate across England and Wales, which stood at 25.1.

Crimes recorded in Hillingdon included:

693 sexual offences, a rise of 33%7,849 violent offences, a rise of 5%1,712 incidents of criminal damage and arson, down 2%1,338 drug offences, down 26%158 possession of weapons such as firearms or knives, down 11%1,922 public order offences, up 2%9,266 theft offences, a slight increase2,483 stalking and harassment offences, up 9%