NEWS RELEASES
Drop in crime: real progress behind the statistics
16th November 2007
CRIME across the Horsham District has dropped almost 12% in the last year, Horsham District Council heard recently.
The results, compiled by Sussex Police at a recent Sussex Police Authority meeting, were presented to Horsham District Councillors at a meeting held last week (7 November).
Some of the reasons behind the fall in crime were given by the Council’s Community Safety Unit, which detailed its recent work including the introduction of the new Street Scene Wardens and close working relationship with the Police Neighbourhood Specialist Teams.
Community Safety Manager Mike Rumble explained the weekly joint agency Signal Incidents meeting (SIG) at which crime trends and anti-social behaviour (ASB) are analysed and joint partner resources are deployed. He said:
“The ‘SIG’ meetings allow us to identify specific streets and locations that are experiencing problems and get the right people to the right location at the right time.
“With anti-social behaviour this has allowed our partnership to achieve a drop of almost 18% in criminal damage – a prime indicator of ASB.”
Councillors also heard of the innovative projects which aim to divert young people from crime and ASB, such as the ‘Revolution’ course which challenges offending behaviour and presents alternative ways of dealing with life issues. Feedback from the first two courses found that those attending have a reduced rate of contact with ‘authority figures’.
Over 350 warning letters have been sent to parents in the district, alerting them to the actions of their children. This is having an 80% success rate with those children not coming to police attention again.
Twenty two Acceptable Behaviour Contracts have been issued in 12 months and 13 Anti-Social Behaviour Contract (ASBOs) are in force across the District.
All these initiatives had a major impact on reducing ASB.
Horsham District Cabinet Member for Housing and Community Support Cllr Andrew Baldwin, who chaired the meeting, said:
“These figures show that the local authority, in partnership with the police and a range of other organisations is making a real contribution to ensuring the Horsham District remains the safest in West Sussex.
“The Horsham District Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership has brought a new dimension to tackling neighbourhood problems and this has led to a better quality of life for the District’s residents.”
For more information contact Horsham District Council on 01403 215124 or email community.safety@horsham.gov.uk
Ends
Note to editors
This news release has been issued by Horsham District Council as a member of the Horsham District Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership.
The Horsham District Crime Disorder Reduction Partnership is a statutory partnership of Horsham District Council, Saxon Weald, West Sussex County Council, Sussex Police, Sussex Police Authority, West Sussex Fire & Rescue Service and West Sussex Primary Care Trust.
The Partnership is charged with reducing levels of crime and disorder in the Horsham District through sustainable solutions; by working with other key public, private and voluntary agencies and the community.
CONTACT: Richard Morris, Communications Manager
Email: richard.morris@horsham.gov.uk