CRIMES reported to Cheshire Police in Warrington increased by more than 10 per cent between January and February, new data shows.

Statistics released by the Home Office-run website Police.uk reveal that the number of crimes reported in Warrington increased between January and February.

The data is released with a monthly delay, meaning that the most up-to-date figures available are from February of this year.

From the figures that have been collated by the Warrington Guardian, there was an increase in the number of crimes reported to Cheshire Police in the town of 11.9 per cent between January and February.

It should be noted that there are some crimes that take place that go unreported to the police, and some crimes will be reported more than once, which may impact the statistics.

The largest amount of crimes committed fell into the category of 'violent and sexual offences,' with 617 being reported in February.

This was an increase from January, when 598 of these crimes were reported.

Overall, there were 1,552 crimes reported in Warrington in the latest month, which is up from 1,386 in the month before.

Most categories of crime saw an increased number of reports in February compared to January; however, bicycle thefts, drug offences, 'other thefts,' and possession of weapons offences did all fall slightly.

All in all, there were roughly 7.4 crimes committed in Warrington per 1,000 residents in the latest data available.

As it stands, more than 700 of the reported crimes are currently under investigation by the police, with 288 crimes failing to have a suspect identified.

In total, 638 crimes led to no further action being taken - whether that was a suspect failing to be identified, or if charges were dropped, or deemed 'not in the public interest.'

When quizzed about crime statistics, and reported crimes, by the Warrington Guardian, chief inspector Neil Drum, of Warrington Local Policing Unit, said: "While these figures may sound alarming, it’s important that they are put into context.

“It’s important to note that the data on the Police.uk website doesn’t accurately show on which streets incidents actually occurred.

"Instead, the system uses snap points to highlight the crime figures for different areas of the town."

Ch. Insp. Drum added: "I want to reassure anyone who lives, works or visits the town that whenever there is a report of a crime we take it seriously and will do everything we can to investigate what has happened, find those responsible and provide support to victims.

“Our beat management teams closely monitor repeat demand, and whenever a location is highlighted as an area of concern they will always undertake problem-solving work to address this.”