LATEST statistics show violent crime has risen in Bradford over the last year, amid an increase in overall recorded crime across England and Wales.

West Yorkshire Police recorded 32,208 incidents of violent crime in Bradford in the 12 months to December, according to the Office for National Statistics.

That was an increase of 12 per cent compared to the previous year.

At 59.4 crimes per 1,000 people, that was far higher than the rate across England and Wales, which stood at 33.8.

One of the main factors behind the increase in Bradford was the rise in stalking and harassment, which rose by 25 per cent, from 10,808 incidents to 13,459.

Responding to the latest ONS crime statistics to the year ending December 2021, Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire, said: “I am concerned by and closely monitoring the increases we are experiencing in all areas, including violence with injury, sexual offences and stalking and harassment.

“Ensuring the safety of women and girls is something that I am personally committed to achieving and we must each work together in partnership to get there.”

Offences of violence with injury increased by 6 per cent and violence without injury by 4 per cent, reaching 6,762 and 11,967 respectively.

“The West Yorkshire Violence Reduction Unit (VRU), which I oversee, is doing crucial work in tackling violent crime.

“It will receive £5.8 million in 22/23 to continue in its pioneering response to serious violent crime, with an added guarantee of funding for the next three years.

“A further £1.6 million has been made available by Government to support the operational response to knife crime in the county.

“It is also really important that we acknowledge the hard work undertaken by officers and staff during the unprecedented times we have faced during the pandemic, and I thank them for that.”

The total number of offences in Bradford increased by 6 per cent, with police recording 70,930 crimes over the course of the year.

This puts the overall crime rate at 130.8 per 1,000 people, compared to a national average of 85.5.

Around 6.1 million offences were recorded across England and Wales in the year to December, including computer fraud and computer misuse.

This was up 8 per cent from 5.6 million in 2020, but roughly the same number as recorded in the 12 months to March 2020, before the coronavirus pandemic.

The ONS said the latest statistics may reflect a number of factors, including the “impact of high-profile incidents, media coverage and campaigns on people’s willingness to report incidents to the police, as well as a potential increase in the number of victims”.