Crime rates in Shepton Mallet Town more than doubled from May to June 2023.

According to the latest data, the number of reported crimes in Shepton Mallet Town rose dramatically from 63 in May to 149 in June 2023.

Notably, June was the month when the annual Glastonbury Festival took place, with 200,000 people coming into the area for the event.

The data shows various fluctuations across crime categories. Anti-social behaviour, including activities like vandalism and public drunkenness, slightly increased from nine cases in May to 11 in June.

Violent crime, encompassing everything from minor assault to serious harm, went from 21 reported cases in May to 50 in June. Reports of burglary rose from one in May to eight in June.

Several categories of crime made their debut in June's statistics. Drug-related crimes, for example, were listed 12 times in June but were not reported in May. Possession of weapons, a category including carrying or using an illegal weapon, had three reported cases in June and none in May.

Theft from the person, which involves directly stealing from someone, appeared eight times in June's statistics but was absent from May's report.

Some categories saw decreases. Criminal damage and arson, involving activities like property damage and setting fires, fell from 10 reports in May to six in June. Public order offences, such as affray or disorderly conduct, slightly decreased from eight cases in May to seven in June. Other categories experienced more significant increases.

For example, 'other theft' rose from five cases in May to 26 in June.

Robbery remained stable, with one reported case in both May and June. Similarly, shoplifting was consistently reported eight times in both months. Vehicle crime involving theft of or from vehicles was listed seven times in June, up from zero in May. Shepton Mallet also recorded two 'other crimes' in June, a category capturing less common offences.

In response to the data, a police spokesman said: "We're evaluating these statistics closely to inform our ongoing public safety strategy. As always we'd urge anyone with information about any crime to contact us on 101, or in an emergency, on 999."