THE number of serious crimes such as sexual and violence offences, criminal damage and arson has fallen across the borough, official figures have revealed.

Essex Police recorded 10,211 offences in Epping Forest in the 12 months to March, according to the Office for National Statistics.

That was a decrease of 11 per cent compared to the previous year, when there were 11,420.

At 77.5 crimes per 1,000 people, that was in line with the rate across England and Wales, which stood at 77.6.

Crimes recorded in Epping Forest for this period included: 217 sexual offences, a decrease of seven per cent, 3,817 violent offences, a decrease of one per cent, and 921 incidents of criminal damage and arson, which was down 15 per cent.

However the force did record some rises in crime incidents including 497 drug offences which is up 30 per cent, 77 possession of weapons such as firearms or knives, up 13 per cent, 1,092 public order offences, up eight per cent.

Overall, police recorded 13 per cent fewer crimes, excluding fraud, across England and Wales, with around 4.6 million offences in the year to March.

The ONS said the annual drop was helped by a “substantial” fall in crime during April last year, when the first lockdown restrictions were introduced.

The number of recorded crimes increased between July and September, it added, before decreasing again as lockdown measures were imposed toward the end of last year.

However, in March this year, recorded crime was higher than the previous year as the phased exit from lockdown started.

Billy Gazard, from the ONS Centre for Crime and Justice, said: “The coronavirus pandemic has had a significant impact on patterns of crime.

“There were large decreases in theft offences, such as domestic burglary and theft from the person, as more people stayed at home and limited their social contact.”

But the figures did show a 28 per cent increase in stalking and harassment offences across England and Wales in the year ending in March, compared to the previous year.

This was driven by an increase in cyber stalking cases during the pandemic, according to the Suzy Lamplugh Trust.

The trust, which was set up to support victims of stalking following the disappearance of Suzy in 1986, said it had seen a rise in calls to its helpline since March last year.