CRIME in Devon and Cornwall last year rose by nearly a quarter, annual figures have revealed.

The worrying 23 per cent jump in lawlessness reflects similar increases across the UK, although the two counties force still boasts the seventh lowest crime rate in England and Wales.

Deputy Chief Constable David Lewis said after yesterday’s announcement: ‘We have actively changed recording practices which is positively impacting upon these figures.’

He added: ‘We should also reflect on Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) report from earlier this month, which graded us as ‘good’ for our crime recording. An obvious consequence of this improvement is an increase in our recorded levels of crime.’

He explained that changes in recording practice had seen a ‘significant increase’ in the number of sexual offences the Force was logging. This had seen a rise of approximately 43 per cent during the last 12 months.

A number of new laws had resulted in a rise in crime figures for all forces across the country.

‘After the introduction of the Malicious Communications Act we now record abusive and threatening behaviour, such as abusive messages on social media, under the heading of ‘violence without injury’ which has led to an increase of nearly 50 per cent in that category,’ said the senior officer.

It was worth pointing out that crime figures only represented a small part of what Devon Cornwall did. Some 80 per cent of its business is non-crime related.

‘We have one of the highest levels of public confidence of any force across the country, and this means that people feel supported and confident that we will take their crime seriously.

‘The upshot of this confidence from our public, is that we will also see a rise in the reporting of certain crime types,’ he said.

He added: ‘According to Crime Survey in England and Wales, the perceived risk of becoming a victim of crime - both household and personal - remains low, with Devon and Cornwall being the third lowest in the country for household crime.

‘This reflects that residents feel safe in our area.’