A DEMAND was issued to summon a senior police officer to discuss the rise in crime in Calne with town councillors after a debate over statistics presented to the council.
At Monday's meeting of the town council there was a discussion on figures compiled from the Wiltshire Police and Crime Commissioner Angus Macpherson's website by Cllr John Boaler.
The figures indicated rises in burglary, vehicle crime, shop lifting and violent crime from 2017 to 2018 in the town and immediate area.
Cllr John Boaler said he had requested accurate figures for the town several times from the commissioner and was disappointed they were not give. He had compiled the statistics with a friend which revealed a spike in crime. Cllr Richard Merrick said the figures were an "eye-opener" while Cllr Robert MacNaughton said the police needed to come to the council to explain the rise in crime.
The figures showed 2017 had 41 burglaries but 78 in 2018, while shop-lifting rose from 53 reported cases to 128 last year.
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