Top cop: Rise in sexual offences recorded in Windsor and Maidenhead largely down to historic cases

The top cop for Windsor and Maidenhead has announced that crime in the borough has dropped by 3.1 per cent in the past year.

Between April 2014 and March 2015, there have been 252 fewer victims of crime in Windsor and Maidenhead in comparison to the 12 months previously.

Vehicle crime decreased by 249 offences and rates of robbery dropped by 36.4 per cent (from 66 to 42).

However, sexual offences increased by 33.1 per cent (136 to 181) and drug crimes have also been on the up.

Windsor and Maidenhead Local Police Area commander Superintendant Kate Ford said the area has also seen a rise in the number of violent crimes, in line with the national trend.

Supt Ford believes the increase in this particular category of crime can partly be attributed to the way it is recorded, stating that more crimes now fall under the violent crime category which had not previously.

The superintendant argued that the increase was down to lower level violent crimes, such as push and shoving, associated with the night time economy.

Having previously seen the area become a common target for courier fraud, Supt Ford feels that raising awareness has seen a significant reduction in successful scams.

"Through a significant media campaign, we went from being one of the higher areas experiencing these crimes to pretty much eradicating it," she said.

The area commander also stated that the rise in sexual offences was largely due to historic cases.

She believes Thames Valley Police has 'done a lot to improve confidence', encouraging more people to come forward and report sexual crimes which they previously had not.