EVERY crime reported in Colchester throughout December has been mapped, showing more than 700 involved reports of violence or a sexual offence.

The latest figures, available from data.police.uk, reveal every reported crime in the borough during December last year.

They reveal that of 1,662 crimes reported, 741 involved violence or a sexual offence.

There were also 186 reports of anti-social behaviour.

Of the recorded crime reports, 150 related to reports of criminal damage or arson, while 60 involved illicit drugs.

There were reported 92 incidents of shoplifting, 47 reported vehicle crimes, 148 public order offences and 105 categorised as 'other theft'.

The statistics also show 51 reports of burglary, ten reports of robbery, 12 involving possession of weapons and 18 bicycle thefts.

There were nine reports of robbery.

The figures include investigations which did not identify a suspect, cases which remain under investigation and which are awaiting a court outcome.

They also include cases which have been resolved and reports which did not lead to a prosecution.

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An Essex Police spokesman said: "Colchester remains a really safe place to live, work and socialise and the likelihood of being a victim of crime across the borough is very low, with 43 violent incidents per 1,000 people being recorded across 2021.

"We have a very popular town centre, which in turn means we have a lively night-time economy, and we work very closely with our partners to keep residents and visitors safe.

"We also use crime trends to focus our resources where we believe they are most needed.

"We have specialist officers focused in the area of domestic violence, who are working hard to catch perpetrators and prevent repeat incidents of violence and our Op Raptor and North Disruptor teams are working around the clock to detect and disrupt gang and drug-related violence in the area."

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