LATEST police figures for Maldon show that last month (August) the area had a low crime rate when compared to other areas of the county.

In the CM9 postcode area there were a total of 30 miscellaneous offences, 29 reported cases of harassment and 26 violent crimes during the month. This is equal to five crimes per 1,000 people.

There were six per 1,000 recorded across the wider area covered by Maldon district and nine per 1,000 across the Essex Police force area.

The Maldon figures show no significant change from those recorded in July.

Within the context of the area's low crime rate, there were two areas defined as 'hotspots' for crime within the postcode, which covers Maldon town, Heybridge, Great Totham, Goldhanger, Tollesbury and the villages in between. These were the central Maldon area and around Tollesbury.

For Southminster and Burnham-on Crouch, August crime figures were similar, but slightly higher than for Maldon at six per 1,000 population. There were 19 recorded miscellaneous offences, 25 harassment and 22 assault without injury.

These statistics were added to the Essex Police website yesterday (Friday, 25 September) where residents can also complete a poll on the crimes that most concern them in their neighbourhood. Residents can find the 'In Your Area' section of the website here