Working together, keeping community safe
The safety of residents continues to improve as a result of the work of the county’s public services.
A number of positive trends were reported at a recent meeting of the Warwickshire Safer Communities Partnership including; a significant drop in crime figures, a reduction in the number of casualties on the county’s roads, and improved public confidence in relation to how police and local councils deal with crime and anti-social behaviour.
Comparing figures from April and May 2010 with the same period in 2009, Warwickshire Police reported a number of crime reductions. Incidents of most serious violence were down 35.4%, serious acquisitive crime was down by 19.7%, and domestic burglary and vehicle crime reduced by 28.8% and 16.9% respectively. These figures contributed to a 10.4% reduction in overall crime.
Reporting on road user casualties for January to March 2010, the county’s road safety partnership revealed that 65 people had been killed or seriously injured. This is down from 67 for the same period in 2009, 97 in 2008 and 155 in 2000, reflecting a very positive trend.
Good news was also reported by the Youth Justice Service who informed the group that fewer young people are coming into the criminal justice system. There is also a decrease in re-offending by young people already in the system.
The county’s intervention work with drug and alcohol abusers is also paying dividends as people are continuing to access and remain in effective treatment programmes. The next few months will see Warwickshire’s Drug and Alcohol Action Team directing extra focus to tackling alcohol related harm and hospital admissions.
Councillor Richard Hobbs, Portfolio Holder for Community Protection and Chair of Warwickshire Safer Communities Partnership said: “Once again our partners have presented a set of impressive results to the group proving that our joined up approach to improving community safety in Warwickshire is working.
“I hope this news will be welcomed by our residents who should feel reassured that the county is a safe place to live and work.”
The Safer Communities Partnership includes membership from a range of public services. Each represented agency is committed to protecting communities by fighting crime, providing treatment and support services and issuing relevant safety information to residents.
For more information please visit http://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/communitysafety.