NEW figures have revealed more sexual offences were recorded in Maldon over the past year, despite an overall drop in recorded crime.

Essex Police recorded 147 incidents of sexual offences in Maldon in the 12 months to December 2020, according to the Office for National Statistics, an increase of 58 per cent compared to the previous year.

Despite this, the total number of offences in Maldon fell by three per cent, with police recording 3,621 crimes over the course of the year, putting the overall crime rate at 55.8 per 1,000 people which is below the national average of 80.8.

Other crimes recorded in Maldon included:

• 1,667 violent offences, a rise of 8 per cent

• 778 theft offences, down 23 per cent

• 352 incidents of criminal damage and arson, down 19 per cent

• 132 drug offences, up 6 per cent

• 21 possession of weapons such as firearms or knives, down 16 per cent

• 429 public order offences, up 18 per cent

Overall, police recorded eight per cent fewer crimes across England and Wales – there were around 5.6 million offences in the year to December.