A VICTIM is injured in a violent crime in Colchester every six hours, new figures have revealed.

A sex offence is also reported every day.

The startling revelations will be presented to Essex Police and Crime Commissioner Roger Hirst at a meeting in Colchester on Wednesday.

The figures, covering December 2015 to November 2016 also showed:

  •  a sex offence is reported every day in Colchester with the number rising to 408, up almost 16 per cent on the previous year
  • the number of violent crimes involving injury topped 1,500, up by 152 incidents on the number in 2015 - the previous highest
  • the number of violent crimes without injury rose by almost 26 per cent to about seven per day.

However, the number of home burglaries reported to police fell by about 37 per cent from 736 to 462 and the number of other burglaries reported fell from 666 to 438.

Colchester is now the largest district in the county and among the fastest growing boroughs in the country with a population of 180,000.

This may account for some of the increase in crime but the likelihood of being attacked has also increased.

In June 2013, the risk of being a victim of a violent crime in Colchester in any given year was one in 277.

The risk is now one in 166, according to the police.uk website.

While still low, the danger of becoming a victim of a violent crime is higher in Colchester than in Essex or across most similar areas in the UK.

Reports of harassment or malicious communication are now being counted as violence without injury.

This could be part of the reason for the increase in the figures. These may previously have been recorded as anti-social behaviour.

Overall crime rose 2.7 per cent from 11,893 reported incidents to 12,216 - the equivalent of 33 every day.

Mr Hirst will be joined by Chief Inspector Elliott Judge, district commander for Colchester, to discuss the figures and any concerns residents have at the public meeting being staged at Colchester Institute.

Mr Hirst said: “I welcome the opportunity to meet with residents and I urge everyone who wants to have their say on crime and policing related issues in the town to come along.”

The meeting will take place between 6.30pm and 8.30pm.