THE NUMBER of burglaries and robberies across Thames Valley Police has increased, while knife crime is down according to new figures released today.
They also saw a 7% decrease in the number of incidents attended, a 6.4% decrease in the amount of formal action taken for all crimes, and an 18.4% decrease in formal action taken on domestic crimes.
The force did see a 17.4% increase in the number of charges made for rape cases, and a 13.6% increase for other sexual offences.
The number of arrests increased 6.8%, from 30,908 to 33,006.
And there was an increase in the number of people calling 999: in the year April 1, 2022, to March 31, 2023, the force had 372,895 calls, but for the year ending March 31, 2024, this increased 9% to 404,654.
There was a 14% rise in online webform reports, from 95,233 to 108,114, but a decrease in calls to the 101 non-emergency number: 497,453 to 471,512.
Chief Constable Jason Hogg said: “The increase in 999 calls has been a national phenomenon. Earlier this year, there was a massive spike to do with a new version of an app on Samsung smartphones that automatically dialled 999.
“It took us several months to resolve.”
Other factors, he said, include the Thames Valley Policing region having one of the largest motorway networks in the country.
“All it takes is one dog on a motorway, for example, and the 999 calls go through the roof,” he said.
He did stress that people who saw a situation that needed urgent assistance should report it: “We are an emergency service, and we work very hard, tirelessly, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
“If people need help because it’s an emergency, because there is obviously a crime being committed or they are at risk of harm, they should always call 999. We have a very strong performance in answering those calls within 10 seconds.”
The force teamed up with Hampshire to launch what the force calls a victim’s portal. This allows someone to contact the officer dealing with their case directly through an app. It is hoped this would reduce the need for people to call 101.
“That’s a first step in a number of options, using chatbots, voice recognition software, to try and give a better service. So, in effect, there are more people using online channels rather than waiting on the phone to 101.”
CC Hogg said one of the reasons the statistics for crime had changed was because the force had adjusted.
“We have focused our attention this year on charging more criminals and we have seen a significant increase in charging more offenders,” he explained. “That has led to a reduction in formal outcomes in other areas – what we call out-of-court disposals such as warning letters.
“In relation to domestic abuse, we’ve taken a policy decision we will no longer issue cautions. There is a new national framework coming in that if we caution somebody it will be a conditional caution. They will have to go on a perpetrator course, which we’re just bringing in.
“A third of the arrests we make are for domestic abuse and it is still a priority for us.”
He added: “We want to focus our efforts on those criminals who are committing the most crime or committing the most harm. If we’re doing that, we will be charging more offenders.”
This has been particularly noticeable in the way in which it has handled drug crime, something CC Hogg said he is very proud of.
“Tackling serious organised crime clearly needs to be a priority,” he said, pointing out that the Thames Valley is close to London and Birmingham, and has a good transport network. It is also surrounded by nine other police forces.
“We have people from other areas coming to our patch, if you like, drug dealing,” he said. “We need to be good at tackling serious and organised crime, we have a drug task force in place which deals with those who import drugs or use firearms.
“When I do speak to the public, they are concerned when they see drug dealing in their streets, particularly children’s play parks.”
He said the drug task force would be proactive when tackling information about a new drug gang being active.
“I’m really pleased not just in terms of the number of prosecutions, but we have taken more than 150 guns off the street this year, the highest number in Thames Valley Police’s history. We are having some real successes in disrupting serious and organised crime across the Thames Valley.”
April marked the first anniversary of CC Hogg taking on the lead role in the constabulary.
“The number one question I get asked when I’m out and about, and speaking to the public or my staff, is, ‘Are you enjoying your role?’ And I am. I’m very happy and proud to be chief constable of Thames Valley Police” he said. “I think I’ve enjoyed every role in policing, it’s such a diverse profession, but I’m really proud to be a member of Thames Valley Police, it’s a good force.
“We’re a big employer of 9,200 people and we’re now bigger than ever before. We have a hardworking workforce who are committed to making a difference in their local communities despite the challenges we have faced and will face in coming years.”
Helping tackle those challenges are new technologies, such as drones. There has been a 7% increase in their deployment year-on-year: 1,004 to 1,072.
CC Hogg said: “We have a number of drones that allow us to be eyes and ears, particularly in our rural areas. In the past, one of the frustrations was tackling crime in these areas. A drone allows us to see effectively over a number of fields or areas in a short period of time.”
He said rural crime was down 22% as a result, and many vehicles are now equipped with drone technology, while more officers are being trained in drone usage.
“As soon as they have a report, for example, somebody on a farm, they can deploy a drone very, very quickly and use other officers to intercept and arrest the offenders,” he continued, adding it can be used to help find missing people and can be more effective than having “dozens of officers walking in fields”.
“Technology is never the single solution; it is another tool in the toolbox.”
Thames Valley Police has had some problems with officer satisfaction. A report released earlier this month stated that nearly two-thirds of officers felt their workload was too high, and many wanted to leave.
There are currently 5,120 officers in the force, and 9,270 officers, staff, PCSOs and special constables across the whole organisation.
CC Hogg said the recruitment drive is starting to see results, and he was focused on improving retention – “a real issue for us”.
“We need to get better and make sure the people we recruit have the skills, abilities, and resilience to be effective police officers,” he said. “Most of the people we are losing are in the first two years (with the force) so we have increased the level of scrutiny we have when taking on new people as officers. Being a police officer does have its challenges.”
He said it was a fact that officers could earn more in the private sector, and pay is dealt with nationally, which means he needs to act differently to keep officers on board.
“We’ve had a reduction of 25% in the workload of our frontline officers in the past year,” he explained. “We’ve done that by building a back-office investigation team so officers have more time to be on the streets, proactive and targeting criminals and investigating crime.
“I think that is really making a difference.
“I’ve got a lot of good feedback from our officers; the workload issue really is a thing. Officers need to come to work every day and feel that the workload is manageable, and they are making a difference.
“If they are running around from job to job, not solving any crime and not providing a good service to victims, that does affect morale.”
What else would CC Hogg like to see change in the year ahead?
“I want to solve more crime,” he said. “We have had some real successes, particularly when it comes to rape, sexual offences, and homicide knife crime. I want to solve more of what people would describe as low levels of crime, for example, shoplifting.
“This has been mentioned quite a lot of me by retailers.
“I just want our officers to have the mindset that we are a crime-fighting organisation, and they are going to go out on the streets every day and look for opportunities to identify criminals and solve crime.”
