NEARLY 100,000 criminal offences were recorded on Merseyside last year as crime rates rose by 5%.

There were 97,350 crimes recorded by Merseyside Police in 2014, according to figures from the Office for National Statistics.

Last year saw 21 homicides, 1,864 sex crimes and 6,404 house burglaries recorded by the force – pushing the total number up 5% higher than the previous year.

Both violent crime and sex offences saw a huge rise, with 37% increases in both last year compared to 2013. The increase in sexual crime across the region exceeded the national rise.

Bike thefts were up 10% from the previous year but thefts from the person in Merseyside were down 30% on 2013’s figures.

Burglaries fell 2% over the same period, while drug offences dropped by 5%.

Reports of possession of offensive weapon rose 2% and public order offences rocketed by 21%.

Merseyside Police Assistant Chief Constable Ian Pilling said: "Despite a variety of on-going challenges, we have seen a slight increase in overall crime in the last 12 months.

"We will continue to target our proactive resources in tackling the issues that matter to local communities, while delivering an excellent policing service to the people of Merseyside.

"We continue to listen to the concerns of our communities, and are advancing our fight against serious and organised crime with the Matrix Serious and Organised Crime team (MSOC). We have always stood firm in our promise to tackle these issues and this will continue.

"This is combined with the dedication of our officers, who respond to incidents with courage, courtesy and professionalism, which we hope will build upon strong public confidence and keep our communities safe. We recognise that we cannot be complacent and will continue to act with openness, honesty and integrity and strive to find the most efficient and cost effective way to deliver policing in Merseyside."

Overall crime recorded by police increased by 2% to 3.8 million offences - the first time it has risen since 2003/04 - with violence against the person offences up 21% and public order offences increasing by 14%.

Although theft offences fell by 5% last year, shoplifting rose to its highest level since 2002/03, with more than 325,000 offences recorded by police.

The number of rapes recorded by police soared to its highest ever level.

Some 26,703 rapes were recorded by forces in England and Wales in 2014, a 40% increase on the previous year, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said.

A total of 80,262 sexual offences were recorded last year - a 32% rise - to reach its highest level since the introduction of the National Crime Recording Standard (NCRS) in 2002/03.

The ONS said: "This is the first increase in police recorded crime since 2003/04 but needs to be seen in the context of the renewed focus on the quality of crime recording.

"Although the latest figures show a small increase, the level of police recorded crime is still 20% lower than in 2008/09 and 37% lower than the peak in 2003/04."