Revealed: Steep rise in anti-social behaviour in Arun

Numbers of burglaries have also seen a sharp rise and violent crime has also increased.

However public confidence in our police officers remains high.

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

Police recorded 448 domestic burglaries last year, a steep rise from 2016’s 276.

The figures also reinforce the perception of Bognor’s problem with anti-social behaviour.

Public order offences rose by 18 per cent in the last year, and have nearly trebled in the past four years (up 169 per cent).To go with the spikes in theft and public order offences, robbery also saw a jump last year.

Officers recorded 66 robberies in Arun last year, up from 50 the year before. Over the last four years robbery figures have increased by 39 per cent.

Chief Inspector Kris Ottery said: “The crime figures in Arun 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 or anti-social behaviour in Bognor recently?

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