Waterlooville crime up by over 22% as Hampshire police warn of 'significant' rise
Havant and Hayling Island have also seen an increase in crime rates
Police have warned of a “significant” rise in crime in Waterlooville, up 22.7% this year, as figures also show increases in Havant and on Hayling Island.
In a number of social media posts published today (October 19), Chief Inspector Matt Moss of Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary said: “There has been a significant percentage increase in crime for Waterlooville so far this year.
“Crime is up for Waterlooville by 22.7% against the same period last year, which is an increase of 330 reports. A significant proportion of this increase relates to vehicle crime and whilst we would expect to see some rise in crime as the town expands, this is very out of kilter.”
However, Chief Inspector Moss also pointed out that crime is “significantly less” than in Havant, which has seen an increase of 529 reports since last year.
“This is slightly higher than similar areas of the county, and has been driven by the spike in theft from motor vehicles, improved shoplifting reporting and a small rise in violence without injury,” he said.
“Calls relating to anti-social behaviour are up 36.3% in Havant, going from 1332 calls to 1815.
“For the first time in quite some time we are seeing increasing issues again with a new cohort of young people who are starting to commit low level crime and disorder, and we are seeking to get straight on top of them straight away.”
The crime rate has also increased on Hayling Island, with reports of crime up by just over 2% compared to last year, an increase of 14 reports.
Chief Inspector Moss said: “The summer period in general saw a lower crime rate this year. If it wasn’t for May, which for some reason was unusually busy on the Island, we would be down for crime overall.”
Despite crime rates increasing, Hampshire police have also increased the amount of crimes they have solved, solving 868 crimes in the last six months, up from 770 for the same period last year.
“This is a higher increase than the total increase in crime across the borough, which means we have also solved a higher percentage of crime than we did this time last year, 16.5% versus 15.5%,” said Chief Inspector Moss.
“We would like to get over 17% by the end of the year.”