Criminals 'seeking to take advantage of coronavirus pandemic' to commit crime

The report - by the National Police Chiefs' Council - reveals that overall crime was down by around a quarter across the UK during the lockdown.

However, the police in England and Wales recorded a total of 154,812 Covid-19 related incidents in the four weeks to May 10.

The incidents include 'where officers have proactively offered advice to people, responded to reports from the members of the public about breaches of the regulation by others and offences where criminals have sought to take advantage of the pandemic to commit a crime', the NPCC said.

There has been a reduction in assaults and robbery committed against individuals, figures revealed.

The reductions have been seen in high volume crimes such as burglary, vehicle-related theft and shoplifting.

These figures were expected 'given the reduction of opportunities for criminals to commit acquisitive crime', the NPCC said.

Domestic abuse reports increased by 4% within the figures when compared to 2019 like-for-like statistics.

999 calls have reduced by almost a quarter, with 101 calls showing a similar fall.

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