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Recorded crime in Mansfield has risen in the last year, figures show – but, police have stressed, it is down on pre-Covid levels.

Office for National Statistics figures show Nottinghamshire Police recorded 11,251 crimes in the year to September, up 16 per cent on the 9,691 the year before.

However, the force said crime figures for 2021-22 were not comparable to 2020-21, due to the effect of Covid, and further ONS figures show the overall number of estimated crimes across England and Wales remained below pre-pandemic levels.

In Mansfield in 2021-22, police recorded 373 sexual offences, 96 robbery offences, 3,355 theft offences, 1,425 offences resulting in criminal damage and arson, 427 drug offences and 165 incidents of possession of weapons, such as firearms or knives.

Insp Kylie Davies, Nottinghamshire Police's Mansfield district commander.

There were also 4,142 recorded violent crimes against a person, although police said this includes harassment and threats of violence, with just 1,285 of those recorded resulting in injury to the victim, a 25 drop on the pre-Covid year.

Cannabis plants seized in raid on Mansfield Woodhouse property

Insp Kylie Davies, Nottinghamshire Police’s Mansfield district commander, said: “The figures are clear Mansfield is now a safer place to live and work in than it was before the Covid-19 pandemic.

“During the unprecedented pandemic restrictions, all offending fell. Demand has since increased significantly, but the good news is we are still well ahead of where we were before the pandemic.

“Compared with the last period before the pandemic, burglaries are down more than 30 per cent, robberies are down 19 per cent and thefts are down about 10 per cent. Vehicle offences have also fallen by nearly 40 per cent.

“Mansfield is already a great place to live and work and the local neighbourhood team are constantly working to address residents’ concerns.

“We currently have more of these officers than we have for a long time and have recently implemented a range of new initiatives to tackle the issues that matter to residents and businesses.

“Persistent shop thieves and burglars continue to be targeted with robust police action and several are currently serving prison sentences as a result.

“Safer Streets funding has also been used to install a range of new automatic number-plate recognition cameras in the area.

“Things continue to get more and more difficult for local criminals which is exactly what the public expect from us.”

‘Mansfield is now a safer place to live and work’