VIOLENT crime has risen in Braintree over the last year, despite an overall drop in recorded criminal offences.

Essex Police recorded 4,623 incidents of violent crime in the district in the 12 months to March, according to the Office for National Statistics.

That was an increase of seven per cent compared to the previous year.

At 30.3 crimes per 1,000 people, that was in line with the rate across England and Wales, which stood at 29.9.

The Braintree district saw a spike in stalking and harassment, which rose by 24 per cent, from 1,652 incidents to 2,043.

There was one homicide – a category which includes murder and manslaughter. This was the same number as the previous 12 months.

Overall, police recorded 13 per cent fewer crimes, excluding fraud, across England and Wales, with around 4.6 million offences in the year to March.

The ONS said the annual drop was helped by a "substantial" fall in crime during April last year, when the first lockdown restrictions were introduced.

The number of recorded crimes increased between July and September, it added, before decreasing again as lockdown measures were imposed toward the end of last year.

However, in March this year, recorded crime was higher than the previous year as the phased exit from lockdown started.

Billy Gazard, from the ONS Centre for Crime and Justice, said: “The coronavirus pandemic has had a significant impact on patterns of crime.

"There were large decreases in theft offences, such as domestic burglary and theft from the person, as more people stayed at home and limited their social contact."

The total number of offences in the Braintree district fell by seven per cent, with police recording 10,157 crimes over the course of the year.

This puts the overall crime rate at 66.6 per 1,000 people, compared to a national average of 77.6.

Other crimes recorded in the district included:

353 sexual offences, a rise of one per cent.

2,277 theft offences, down 34 per cent.

979 incidents of criminal damage and arson, down 16 per cent.

441 drug offences, up 32 per cent.

74 possession of weapons such as firearms or knives, down 11 per cent.

1,128 public order offences, up 15 per cent.

The ONS figures did show a 28 per cent increase in stalking and harassment offences across England and Wales in the year ending in March, compared to the previous year.

This was driven by an increase in cyber stalking cases during the pandemic, according to the Suzy Lamplugh Trust.

The trust, which was set up to support victims of stalking following the disappearance of Suzy in 1986, said it had seen a rise in calls to its helpline since March last year.

Spokesman Violet Alvarez said: "We know that domestic abuse has risen drastically during the pandemic, and this is evident in the rise of ex-intimate partner stalking cases that we have seen on the helpline."

She said specialist training across police forces and courts was needed to ensure victims were adequately cared for and understood.