Eastbourne town centre shoplifting and thefts from people decrease

On the Police.uk website it says in February, which is the most recent month with available data, compared to January the number of shoplifting reports decreased from 21 to 10, while reports of theft from a person dropped from seven to two and incidents of ‘other thefts’ went down from 26 to 12.

On the data website it clarifies that ‘other theft’ offences include theft by an employee, blackmail and making off without payment.

Reports of bicycle thefts also decreased from seven to three and ‘other crime’ offences – which include forgery, perjury and other ‘miscellaneous’ crimes – dropped from from seven to one.

The data shows that there was also a decrease in reports of anti-social behaviour, criminal damage and arson, public order offences, robbery and vehicle crimes in February.

Overall, in February police received 245 reports of crime in Eastbourne town centre compared to 286 in January, according to the data.

Despite seeing a decrease in reports for 10 out of the 14 categories of crime on the Police.uk website, there was an increase in reports of violent and sexual offences, burglary and drug offences.

The data shows that the number of reports of violent and sexual offences increased from 89 to 96, while reports of burglary jumped from six to 10 and reports of drug offences went up from six to seven.

The number of reports of people being in possession of a weapon also stayed the same with three in both January and February.

District commander for Eastbourne Chief Inspector Di Lewis said: “We are pleased to see there has been a recent fall in recorded crime in Eastbourne, which is testament to the hard work carried out every day of the week across the district.

“We continue to engage with partners to disrupt drug activity and county lines dealing, bringing perpetrators to justice and safeguarding those most at risk.

“Protecting our communities is our top priority, central to which is the reduction of violent and sexual offences through targeted, proactive policing, and the wide range of initiatives aimed at keeping our neighbourhoods safe and targeting violence against women and girls.

“It is vital that the public report any crimes or concerns to us so we can build up an accurate picture of the issues affecting our communities.

“Report to us online via the Sussex Police website, via 101 or call 999 in an emergency.”

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