'Violence and sexual offences' were the most reported crimes in St Albans last month, according to Hertfordshire police.

The recorded statistics for September show that, in total, 414 crimes were reported in the St Albans Central, North and West area across the month.

Meanwhile, 303 crimes were reported in the London Colney, St Stephens and St Albans East region, and 208 in Harpenden and Rural.

Anti-social behaviour was the second-most reported crime in the two St Albans areas, and the most-reported in Harpenden and Rural.

The four most reported crimes in each area can be seen below:

St Albans Central, North and West

  • Violence and sexual offences, 101
  • Anti-social behaviour, 91
  • Other theft, 52
  • Shoplifting, 43

London Colney, St Stephens and St Albans East

  • Violence and sexual offences, 85
  • Anti-social behaviour, 78
  • Shoplifting, 38
  • Vehicle crime, 27

Harpenden and Rural

  • Anti-social behaviour, 56
  • Violence and sexual offences, 41
  • Other theft, 25
  • Shoplifting, 25

A spokesperson for Hertfordshire Constabulary said: “Every crime report is reviewed to see what opportunities there are to investigate, make arrests and ultimately hold criminals to account for their actions.

"A large number of violent and sexual crimes relate to parties known to each other rather than attacks on strangers.

"We offer support to all victims but will also look to put measures in place to protect people at risk of domestic or other kinds of abuse.

“While not all anti-social behaviour reports meet the threshold of a crime, our neighbourhood teams work with partners to tackle the issues causing the most public concern and prevent them from happening again.

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"For free advice on how to protect yourself and your property from crime, go to www.herts.police.uk and search ‘crime prevention advice’.”

Crimes can be reported online at www.herts.police.uk/ro/report by calling the police's non-emergency number 101.

Hertfordshire police's web chat function can be used by visiting herts.police.uk/contact.

Anonymous information can be given by contacting Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or via crimestoppers-uk.org.