Cleveland Police in Yorkshire is dealing with higher crime rates than anywhere else in the country, according to data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
The ONS compiled crime figures per 100,000 people in the year leading to June 2021 for force areas across England and Wales.
It found Cleveland Police emerged with the highest figure at 114.9 recorded crimes per 100,000 people, The Sun reports.
A map showing police forces in England and Wales, coloured by their respective crime rates. Cleveland in Yorkshire merged in top spot, followed by West Yorkshire.
The force found itself caught up in media attention on May 15, 2020, when James Stokoe, 40, was stabbed by a stranger while sitting in his BMW in Thornaby-on-Tees in front of his four-year-old son.
Alexander Layton, 34, was jailed for life at Teeside Crown Court on December 9, to serve a minimum term of 23 years.
Home Office figures reveal 8.3 per cent of investigations by Cleveland Police concluded from April to June led to a charge or summons.
40-year-oild James Stokoe was stabbed to death in his BMW in Thornaby-on-Tees by stranger Alexander Layton on May 15, 2020. The stabbing followed an argument after Mr Stokoe was forced to carry out an emergency stop when Layton walked in front of his car
A total of 16,539 investigations concluded in that time, with just 1,376 progressed to further action.
West Yorkshire Police was in second place on the list for overall crime in England and Wales, with 111.6 crimes per 1,000 people.
It was followed by Greater Manchester with 107.9 crimes, West Midland at 102.9 crimes and Merseyside at 96.7 crimes.
West Yorkshire Police also emerged as the force dealing with the highest rate of violent crime in the country, at 47.4 per 100,00 people.
West Yorkshire emerged as the top spot for violent crime in the country, followed closely by the West Midlands and Cleveland
16-month-old Star Hobson died at her home in Keighley, West Yorkshire, in September 2020 following a brutal attack by her mother’s girlfriend, Savannah Brockhill, 28
Parents up and down the country were horrified in September 2020, when 16-month-old Star Hobson was murdered by her mother’s girlfriend at her home in Keighley, near Bradford.
Savannah Brockhill, 28, was later convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison with a minimum of 25 years, after inflicting ‘catastrophic’ injuries on the little girl.
West Midlands, Cleveland, Kent and Greater Manchester police forces rounded off the rest of the top five places for violent crime.
Kent is the only southern police force area in the top ten list for violent crime.
It was notably the location where Sarah Everard was taken to and murdered by serving Met Police officer Wayne Couzens on March 4 last year, following her kidnap in south London.
And on April 27 last year, 53-year-old Julia James – a PCSO with Kent Police – was found dead in Akholt Wood near her home in Snowdown, with her Jack Russell Toby at her side. Callum Wheeler, 21, is charged with allegedly killing the mum-of-two by inflicting serious head injuries
Marketing executive Sarah Everard, 33, was kidnapped by serving Met Police officer Wayne Couzens on March 3 last year. Her body was later found in remote woodland in Kent
Cleveland Police was not among the 18 police forces with ‘violence hotspots’ given extra funding in March last year to deal with gang and knife crime, although it is continuing to lobby the government to increase its core grant.
A force spokesperson said: ‘Cleveland Police is the smallest geographical area of all police forces in England and Wales but high levels of deprivation, unemployment and health-related issues (such as drug and alcohol dependency) and other socio-demographic and economic factors mean our challenges are more in keeping with those faced by the larger metropolitan forces.
‘Cleveland Police is working hard to address these challenges by protecting the vulnerable and preventing and detecting crime. HMICFRS have noted significant improvements since 2019.
‘We are particularly focused on addressing serious violence and will continue to bid for additional funding in this area.’
