Sharp rise in violent attacks recorded right across Tyrone

CRIME across Tyrone has risen sharply in the last 12 months, with incidents of violent attacks against people showing the biggest increase.

The number of incidents of violence reported in the three council areas covering the county rose by on average four per day, or a total of 1,400 since July last year, compared with the same period the previous year. The figures cover the period until the end of July.

Fermanagh and Omagh’s rate increased by 306, there were 203 more incidents in Mid-Ulster and almost 1,000 in Derry City and Strabane.

The figures – just published by the PSNI – also indicate a substantial increase in the number of incidents of violence where an injury was sustained. This figure was 120 for Fermanagh and Omagh, 232 in Derry City and Strabane and 39 in Mid-Ulster.

Statistics compiled by police also show that overall the Fermanagh and Omagh District reported the fifth highest level of crime for the year to the end of July. The 9.1 per-cent jump saw the number of crimes rise by almost 400 to over 4,000.

Mid-Ulster’s overall crime rate also showed an increase of 6.1 per-cent, while the numbers for Derry City and Strabane increased by 7.5 per-cent.

There was mixed fortunes for the three areas in the battle against both drugs trafficking and possession. The number of incidents of drugs offences rose to 357 in Fermanagh and Omagh, but dropped in Mid-Ulster where the figure fell by 10 per-cent and by 10 offences of trafficking and 46 of possession.

While the number of sexual offences in Fermanagh and Omagh decreased by 13.8 per-cent from 196 to 169, this figure rose slightly in Mid-Ulster where it went up by 51 from 171 to 222. The figure for Derry City and Strabane also rose sightly by 18 from 399 to 417. The number of incidents of shoplifting also rose in the 12 month period covered by the figures. In Fermanagh and Omagh there were four more – going from 234 to 238 – but the increase was more pronounced in Mid-Ulster where it went up from 147 to 225 and in Derry City and Strabane where the increase was 214 from 349 to 563.