Overall crime in West Northants reduced but shoplifting, antisocial behaviour and sexual offences all increase according to latest figures
In the 12 months to the end of March 2025 overall crime reduced across West Northants by 1.8 per cent.
Crime in West Northants has dropped by almost two per cent over the last year, according to the council’s community safety partnership team.
A meeting of the adult social care, health and communities scrutiny committee heard that in the 12 months up to the end of March 2025, recorded crime reduced from 31,883 incidents the previous year to 31,309. In the same period, violent crime also dropped by 8.1 per cent.
Vicki Rockall, Head of Community Safety, Engagement and Resettlement at West Northamptonshire Council (WNC), told members that the 2024/25 figures continued a year-on-year reduction in crime in the area.
Jane Carr, Director of Communities and Opportunities and chair of the community safety partnership, said the public’s perception of crime was also important to remember.
She explained: “Some people don’t feel safe, even though they might be safe or crime might be lower.
“That’s something that we really take seriously in the community safety partnership about how do we address those perception issues and how make people feel safe to walk our streets, use our facilities, and use our town centres.”
Despite the overall decrease, Northampton saw a significant increase in reports of shoplifting, up by almost 50 per cent from last year.
Council officers said the rise was mainly due to ‘improved reporting’ and that the local crime rate for shoplifting still sits below the average for Northampton’s most similar group. The police force in Northamptonshire has also been ranked fifth in the country for positive outcomes for retail theft, including arrests and charges.
Reports of anti-social behaviour (ASB) also increased across West Northants. WNC said there are a number of ongoing projects to address concerns on this topic, including Operation Fragment on Southbrook in Daventry, which included several clean-up days, additional street lighting and CCTV, motorbike deterrent barriers and intervention work with young people.
Operation Workforce in Northampton town centre also tackled ASB, retail crime, drugs and serious violence, as well as committing two anti-social behaviour engagement officers to keep a visible presence around the Market Square area.
Reports of rape in Daventry and South Northants and the Northampton area increased by 8.8 per cent and 12.2 per cent respectively.
In Daventry and South Northants, around half of the reported rape cases had a ‘domestic flag’ attached to them and 36 per cent were flagged as domestic-related in Northampton. In both areas, domestic violence accounted for around a third of all violent offences reported to police.
Sexual offences in Northampton also increased over the year by 21 per cent, with a significant number recorded in the Castle ward in Northampton town centre. The report notes that many of these were historic.
Ms Rockall added: “This is all based on reported incidents. We do spend a lot of time and we do work as a partnership to try and increase people’s confidence in reporting things. Unless it’s reported, resources cant be deployed effectively.
“We’re intelligence-led, we’re led by what the data’s telling us, what the community tells us. We need to set the facts and make sure that we’re sharing those within our communities.”
Officers encouraged people interested in getting regular feedback to sign up to Northamptonshire Talking to receive updates about crime and suspicious activity in their area, get crime prevention advice from local neighbourhood policing teams, and contribute to local policing priorities.
To report a crime members of the public can call the police on 101, report it on Northamptonshire Police’s online website, or contact Crimestoppers to report anonymously. In an emergency call 999.