ONLY 16 per cent of crimes in Barnsley lead to a caution, charge to court or restorative justice, the Chronicle can reveal.
In a report to the South Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner Alan Billings, Deputy Chief Constable Tim Forber confirmed around 2,100 crimes are committed each month in Barnsley.
Barnsley’s Central ward has the highest recorded crimes throughout the district - although crimes related to the night-time economy and to the festive period have been noted as contributory factors.
The crimes that have seen the largest increase in comparison to the previous quarter are residential burglaries, stalking and harassment.
However the force have seen ‘marked reductions’ in sexual offences, violence without injury and theft from a motor vehicle.
The report said: “In terms of recorded crime, local and force crime volumes remain in line with seasonal trends and previous years.
“Volumes are returning to pre-Covid levels following the reductions experienced during prolonged lockdown restrictions. “Barnsley is currently experiencing around 2,100 recorded crimes per month which is consistent with the previous quarter.
“The proportion of crimes that result in a suspect being identified and subject to either a charge to court, a caution or a restorative justice (RJ) disposal currently sits at 16.2 per cent.”
Barnsley has comparatively higher levels of domestic abuse-related incidents per 1,000 of population, according to the report.
The festive period saw domestic abuse reports increase to 429 in December, compared to 365 in November.
“A total of 242 cases were assessed as high risk in the months of November 2021 to January 2022, which represented 16.5 per cent of reported domestic abuse investigations,” the report added.
“This is a significant year-on-year increase and likely to reflect improvements in training around identifying offences of stalking and coercive and controlling behaviour.
“Positive action (charge, caution, restorative justice) following arrest has been taken in 221 cases for the period November to January, equating to an increase in the positive action outcome rate to 18.5 per cent, up from 17 per cent.”
Between November and January, there were 391 residential burglaries committed in Barnsley.
In a bid to lower the number of incidents, Barnsley officers are continuing to use the 7x3 plan which ensures effective coordinated activity such as intelligence and neighbourhood policing.
In that three-month period, the plan led to 630 dedicated patrol hours, 242 curfew checks, more than 2,300 cocoon visits to neighbouring properties, 18 arrests of key suspects and 127 offender management visits.
Intelligence has also revealed latest burglary hotspots to be in Hoyland, Old Town and Worsbrough.
“However, the district regular responds to emerging trends through daily monitoring and management,” the report added.
“In November 2021, Barnsley obtained two tracking devices to support the application of directed patrols in hotspot areas.
“The devices accurately measure speed, live time movement and locations of police officers undertaking targeted patrols.
“The devices are reliable, provide incisive business intelligence regarding the quality of targeted patrols, and are used to reassure our communities through social media messaging.”
