Revealed: Burglaries in Chichester almost doubled last year

However public confidence in our police officers is high despite the rising crime.

Chichester MP Gillian Keegan said police do an ‘excellent job of keeping us all safe’ and is optimistic about the future.

There has been a sharp increase in theft in the Chichester district in the last year, according to figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

Police recorded 351 domestic burglaries last year, almost double the number in 2016. This is coupled with a similar spike (82 per cent) in thefts from people.

To go with the spikes in theft offences, violent crime and robbery also saw a jump last year.

Mrs Keegan said: “Sussex Police do an excellent job of keeping us all safe with an emphasis on local policing with strong partnerships in the community.

“Police data shows the incidence of violent crime, theft and sexual assaults is increasing nationally and locally.

“Part of this increase is attributable to the new ways in which police record crime, but part of the recorded rise is an increase in actual crime.

“To tackle this the Government has brought forward the serious violence strategy to tackle these offences by strengthening legislation around such criminal behaviour.”

Chief Inspector Kris Ottery said: “The crime figures in Chichester are in line with the force and nationally. This doesn’t mean we are complacent and we will do all we can to keep people in this area safe.

“Burglary has risen, in most part because of recent changes in the Home Office categorisation of what is a residential and non-residential burglary.

“Residential burglary now includes any building that is within a boundary of a dwelling when previously it did not. This means that figures for this current year are no longer comparable with the previous data.

“We are working hard to combat burglary by identifying and targeting the individuals and organised crime groups responsible in addition to increasing patrols to affected areas.”

In separate figures, a strong 78 per cent of people experessed confidence in our officers.

This matches the national average of 79 per cent.

Furthermore, 87 per cent of people agreed police treat you with respect.

However, only 60 per cent said police could be relied upon when needed and barely half (estimated) 55 per cent) said police deal with local concerns.

Have you been a victim of burglary in the Chichester area recently?

If you’d like to talk to us about what these figures mean to you, email: [email protected]