Number of violent and sexual offences in Eastbourne town centre has almost doubled

The data on Police.UK indicates there were 124 ‘violence and sexual’ offences reported in the town centre in April 2022 – which is the most recent month available on the web page.

This is an increase of almost 97 per cent compared to the 63 offences reported a year earlier in April 2021.

April 2022 was the month with the second-highest number of ‘violence and sexual’ offences reported in the town centre from data available on the police website – which dates back to May 2019.

October 2021 had the highest number with 128 violent and sexual offences reported.

Despite the noticeably high number of reported ‘violence and sexual’ offences, April 2022 saw 307 crimes reported overall in the town centre.

In the 12 months prior there were six months that had a higher number of reported crimes in the area.

Among the 307 reported crimes in the town centre in April 2022, 55 were related to anti-social behaviour, 41 were in regards to public order while 87 were reports of other crimes.

The most common crimes in the ‘other’ category were ‘other theft’ with 21 reports, shoplifting with 19, and criminal damage and arson with 12.

Chief Inspector Diane Lewis, district commander for Eastbourne and Lewes, said: “Eastbourne is a safe place for people to live, work and visit.

“Mirroring the picture seen across Sussex and nationally, reports of some crime types have naturally increased over the last 12 months as coronavirus restrictions have eased and society – in particular the night-time economy – has opened back up.

“We have stepped up proactive, targeted patrols around the night-time economy and have carried out an enormous amount of work with our partners in licensed venues to make sure everybody is safe to enjoy a night out in the town.

“This is allied with the launch of our Project WAVE (Wellbeing And Vulnerability Engagement) cars – dedicated patrol vehicles aimed specifically at protecting women and girls from violence in the night-time economy.

“WAVE cars are liveried with ‘Ask for Angela’ guidance, which encourages women who require assistance in licensed venues to ask for ‘Angela’, which serves as a trigger for bar staff to offer them support.

“Street pastors work on Friday and Saturday nights to support those in need and we help operate safe spaces in the town where people can go for assistance.

“Officers in uniform and plain clothes also carry out preventative patrols to target perpetrators who are likely to cause harm before situations escalate.

“All of this targeted action is alongside the daily work undertaken by our response officers called to incidents, our neighbourhood policing team working with our communities to prevent crime, tackle the root causes of criminality and safeguard vulnerable people, and the numerous other dedicated teams working 24 hours a day to make sure Eastbourne remains a safe place.

"The public are our eyes and ears, and the more reports we receive the better a picture we can build of the issues affecting our communities, allowing us to target our resources more effectively.”