'The level of crime in this area is average'...

...so says a new Police website (well new to me) which maps crime across the country.

However, more worrying is that the site shows that the average number of crimes committed in the area has increased from 2301.7 to 2889.7 (25.5%) - based on the same three months last year. I wonder what the .7 crime is?

It also says that:

- The average number of burglaries in this area has increased from 196.7 to 311.7 (58.5%)

- The average number of vehicle crimes in this area has increased from 232 to 283.7 (22.3%)

- The average number of violent crimes in this area has increased from 473.7 to 578.7 (22.2%)

- The average number of anti-social behaviour incidents in this area has increased from 1734.7 to 2314.3 (33.4%)

But the good news is that:

The average number of robberies in this area has decreased from 42.3 to 32.3 (23.6%)

Some of these figures are pretty shocking - indeed I have to wonder if they are -at face value- correct? Burglaries up by 58% is a shocking statistic and if correct alone presents a massive increase in crime. We'd heard at various meetings that crime was up, however, this puts it in a worrying perspective.

The website can be found at http://maps.police.uk/view/sussex/