RECORDED sex offences in the county have soared by almost 50 per cent on the previous year as Wiltshire Police say victim confidence is increasing.

For the year ending December 2014, there were 415 more sexual offences recorded, but overall crime has fallen by two per cent.

Recorded sex offences have increased by 43 per cent in the year under review - representing an increase of 415 recorded offences.

The trend nationally and locally for sex offences is of a steady increase.

This is partly due to improvements in the quality of crime recording, in response to concerns raised by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary.

The Police and Crime Commissioner for Wiltshire and Swindon, Angus Macpherson, said: My role is to hold the Chief Constable to account and to represent the public.

“When I became aware of the apparent increase in the number of offences involving sexual violence and violence, I wanted to make sure that this was down to better recording by officers rather than an actual increase in the number of victims.

“A major piece of work was undertaken and, as a result, I am confident that the number of victims has not increased.

"The public can be reassured that there is much better crime recording, in line with Home Office rules.

“One of my strategic priorities is to put victims first. In my view, any victim is a victim too many and we are working with partners and voluntary organisations to address the underlying causes.

“We have been working hard to encourage victims to step forward and report sex crimes to the police.

"There is a lot of professional help available for victims, including the newly established Horizon Victim and Witness Care, which I am funding.”

Warnings have been made not to be complacent about the dramatic rise in reporting, under the existing climate of cuts to specialist teams.

There has been a significant reduction in non-dwelling burglary of 20 per cent which amounts to a drop of 477 offences. This refers to businesses premises, sheds, outhouses and garages.

There is also a five per cent reduction in residential burglaries, making Wiltshire Police the fourth lowest nationally.

In addition, Wiltshire has had the third largest reduction in theft offences - 11 per cent - which equates to 1,630 fewer thefts.

But there has been a 16 per cent increase in recorded crimes of violence - a total of 1,205 offences -which is in line with the national picture.

Chief Constable Patrick Geenty said: “Wiltshire Police are a victim-led organisation and we are working hard to ensure we deliver the right quality of service to the public in line with the Commissioner’s strategy.

“I am pleased to see that Wiltshire continues to have one of the lowest crime rates in the country.

"We have seen success in tackling residential burglaries and non-dwelling burglaries.

“It is right that we are held under scrutiny as to the standard of our crime recording so that it shows a true picture of crime in our county.

"The increase in violence and sex offences was anticipated and we are confident this is as a result of hard work to improve recording practices.”

Paul Ford, of the Police Federation, said: “Sexual offences are increasing which may be due to increased awareness and reporting, but it’s an issue we have to take incredibly seriously and monitor the situation.

“We have seen many of our specialist teams and units, who deal with such crimes, cut or under threat.

“There is also evidence online fraud is increasing and is under-reported, so resources need to be looked at carefully in the area of cyber-crime too.

“There are well documented issues of confidence in crime statistics and whether or not they match reality and, whilst it is important to recognise that the vast majority of crime is recorded correctly, there must be a move away from the current over-reliance on crime statistics as the main gauge of policing effectiveness.”