Cumbria Constabulary recorded 146 incidents of sexual offences in Eden in the 12 months to December, according to the Office for National Statistics.
That was an increase of 45 per cent compared to the previous year.
At 2.7 crimes per 1,000 people, that was in line with the rate across England and Wales, which stood at 3.1.
The total number of offences in Eden increased by 11 per cent, with police recording 2,729 crimes over the course of the year.
This puts the overall crime rate at 50.8 per 1,000 people, compared to a national average of 85.5.
Other crimes recorded in Eden included:
- 1,091 violent offences, a rise of 9%
- 665 theft offences, a rise of 6%
- 341 incidents of criminal damage and arson, up 8%
- 24 possession of weapons such as firearms or knives, up six301 public order offences, up 13%
Around 6.1 million offences were recorded across England and Wales in the year to December, including computer fraud and computer misuse.
This was up eight per cent from 5.6 million in 2020, but roughly the same number as recorded in the 12 months to March 2020, before the coronavirus pandemic.
The number of sex crimes logged by police across the two nations reached another record high in 2021.
Police forces recorded 183,587 rapes and sexual offences in the year to December 2021 – up 22 per cent on 2020 (150,748), which was previously the highest annual figure to date.
Some 37 per cent of sexual offences recorded (67,125) were rapes – a 21 per cent rise from 55,592 in the 12 months to December 2020.
There was also a rise in domestic abuse-related crime in 2021, and stalking and harassment.
The ONS said the latest statistics may reflect a number of factors, including the impact of high-profile incidents, media coverage and campaigns on people’s willingness to report incidents to the police, as well as a potential increase in the number of victims.
It said the overall number of crimes recorded were lower during lockdowns but that there were substantial increases from April 2021, with certain offence types returning to or exceeding pre-pandemic levels.
