Figures released by the Office of National Statistics (ONS) have showed the impact of lockdown restrictions on crime, with fraud and computer-based crimes also rising as the country was made to stay at home and spent even more time online.

Domestic burglaries meanwhile fell by 72 per cent in the first two months of lockdown compared with the two months prior with fewer people leaving their homes meaning fewer opportunities for burglars.

Robberies also fell by nearly 50 per cent compared with the same period the year before, while overall crime saw a reduction of 25 per cent in April and 20 per cent in May.

Drugs offences rose by as much as 44 per cent in lockdown compared with the same period the year before, new data has revealed

Despite the falls in victim-based crime, figures showed a significant increase in drugs offences which were 22 per cent higher in April compared with the same month last year, and 44 per cent higher in May again compared with May 2019.

Although there is no regional breakdown of the national figures to show how crime figures in Yorkshire were affected by the lockdown, local police chiefs have said how drugs criminals have found ways around the restrictions to continue offending.

North Yorkshire Police Chief Constable Lisa Winward told a public meeting last week how the force continues to receive intelligence on the growing, dealing and possession of drugs "absolutely every single day" despite the pandemic, while the county's Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner Julia Mulligan said this week that dealers had been disguising themselves as key workers to avoid suspicion.

The ONS report, published on Wednesday, put this down to “proactive police activity in pursuing these crimes during lockdown”.

Drugs offences rose by as much as 44 per cent in lockdown compared with the same period the year before, new data has revealed. Picture: Adobe

A North Yorkshire Police spokeswoman said: “Enforcement activity has not stopped as a result of the coronavirus pandemic – indeed, only last week we made five arrests as part of Operation Needle in Harrogate and prior to that, we have executed a number of warrants to tackle suspected drugs offences proactively and robustly.

Meanwhile, Humberside Police's recent launch of Operation Galaxy has seen various raids executed across the area, with millions of pounds' worth of drugs, cash and assets seized from suspected criminals.

The operation intensified its activity during lockdown and made 1,000 arrests, executed 170 search and arrest warrants and seized more than £5m worth of drugs in May, June and July.

Chief Superintendent Darren Downs, from the force, said: “When lockdown first began we saw a reduction in demand for our teams, so we decided to use that opportunity to get on the front foot and make sure our area was a hostile place for those looking to commit crime when the restrictions eased.

The number of burglaries reported fell by 72 per cent in lockdown with more people staying at home

He added that almost 400 charges had been made as a result of the heightened activity, a number which was likely to "rise significantly" due to investigations still ongoing into those who had been released pending further enquiries.

Chief Supt Downs said: “We have also seized around £120,000 in cash thought to be linked to drug supply and taken a number of dangerous weapons off the street including guns, Tasers, knuckle dusters and knives."

Detective Superintendent Carl Galvin, from West Yorkshire Police, said that, since April, the force had investigated over 4,000 drugs offences and recovered over £1million of assets from criminals.

Other crime figures from the lockdown period showed that violent offences were two per cent lower in April and 10 per cent lower in May.

The number of violent offences also dropped slightly in lockdown, although there is no breakdown for domestic violence offences

There are no specific figures for domestic violence, however, following charities and call centres reporting surges in calls from victims stuck at home with partners and family members during the lockdown.

Billy Gazard, from the ONS Centre for Crime and Justice, said: “There was a significant fall in crime at the height of the coronavirus pandemic across England and Wales.

“This was driven by reductions in theft offences, particularly domestic burglary and theft of personal property. As this period coincided with the majority of people spending long periods at home during lockdown, it is not unexpected.”

He said the “exception was police recording of drug offences, which increased through April and May”, adding: “This reflects proactive police activity as overall crime levels reduced.”

However, the Chair of the National Police Chiefs Council said crime levels were beginning to return to their 2019 levels as lockdown restirctions have been easing.

Martin Hewitt said: “One consequence of the restrictions was the reduction in crime. Sadly, we are now seeing crime getting closer to the levels we saw in 2019. Police forces are busy tackling and preventing crime and providing a policing service to their communities, while continuing to play their part in the national effort to limit the spread of coronavirus."

Lockdown saw drugs crime rise by nearly a half while burglaries plummeted by 72%, ONS figures confirm