Crime Log - Released January 2010

Total Crime for November saw an overall decrease of 266 reports against the same period 2008 confirming that the multi-agency approach to tackling the issues that matter to our residents is continuing to work.

In response to the work carried out over the month of November by agencies involved in ‘Not in my Neighbourhood week’ we saw a massive decrease in Vehicle Crimes with 120 reports in November 2008 falling by over half to only 57 reports in November 2009.

Domestic Burglary also saw a notable decrease across the board, falling from 56 reports to only 36 for the same period.

The November Anti-social behaviour log also saw a decrease of 167 incidents across the wards against the same period in 2008 which can be attributed to the joint-agency focus in reducing this type of disorder over the Halloween and Bonfire festivities - which often brings a spike in incidents.

Police, Council and Fire departments together with other representatives under the Safer Communities Torbay umbrella aligned delivery of the Safety Plan for the period ensuring that the public received relevant messages leading up to the festivities; including being made aware of the possible dangers and scaremongering common at this time of year. Potentially harmful behaviours were curbed during the festivities themselves by an increase in agency presence across the bay and in particular in areas where disorder is common at this time.

Police increased patrols in both areas where organised events were taking place and large crowds would be ascending to and also in areas where no organised events were planned to discourage people from partaking in their own, illegal ‘celebrations’.

The Fire department committed a substantial amount of resource into the run up to the events, especially bonfire celebrations, in providing residents and organisations across the bay with adequate safety information and advice. Schools and Community groups received fire safety education and at larger organised events there was a department presence throughout to ensure that the event went off with the right kind of bang.

A combination of focus in November with Not in My Neighbourhood week and the Halloween / Bonfire events and a well - executed use of resource reinforces why multi-agency working is the key to success in Torbay.

Our crime figures remain low seeing a continuous fall in crime over the past 3 years, with a 5% decrease in 2008/09 which followed on from a 15% decrease on the previous year and already 2009 / 10 has seen a fall of 11% over the same period last year.

The next phase of ‘You Said, We Did’ – a local campaign whereby YOU tell US what issues matter to YOU and we use them to shape the way WE work over the coming year, is underway. All of Safer Communities Torbay’s partner agencies are currently attending Community events and meetings across the bay asking for you to help us deliver better services. Feedback forms are also available from our website and can be filled out online.

The feedback you provide us with is used tofind out about residentsperceptions of crime in the bay, what issues actually matter to you and how you see these issues successfully being dealt with. We know that we live in a low crime area and that we ARE safe, we need to know how we can make you FEEL safer.

Torbay’s low crime figures have not made us complacent. The Council, Police and partner agencies are keen to know about crime and anti-social behaviour across the bay, how residents feel about it and where their concerns lay.

The ‘ You Said, We Did’ campaign feedback that we receive directlyfeeds into Safer Communities Torbay (your local Community Safety Partnership, which includes the Council, the Police, the Fire Brigade, Health and Probation) and the results are analysed so that the Partnership can see where best to use its resources over the coming year.

Quote from Partnership Inspector Glen Mayhew; “The figures continue to decrease confirming the recent British Crime Survey findings ‘that we live in one of the safest places in the UK’. Not resting on our laurels, the Police and our partner agencies under the Safer Communities Torbay umbrella are working together to ensure that the individuals responsible for the crimes are dealt with appropriately. Be this sanction and / or support.

Operation Lock-Up continues to reach out to communities where we have seen a series of related offences. Officers go into these neighbourhoods armed with Crime Prevention advice with the intention of encouraging households to take simple steps to protect their property; thereby reducing the number of ‘opportunistic’ crimes. The use of Community Messaging supports this and I would encourage people to consider joining. Community Messaging is a way for us to send important messages via phone or e-mail to neighbourhoods in relation to what is affecting them. We have trialled the use of community messaging by our Neighbourhood teams as a way for them to send out local news such as the next ward partnership meetings and important local safety messages. The feedback has been really positive and we would encourage people to join.

Operation Inheritance is another example of where we are proactively trying to reduce burglary and theft in Torbay by making it more difficult for the criminals to dispose of stolen property. Working with the second hand shops across the bay, who have agreed to record the details of all their purchases. This means that we will be able to trace the person who sold the item if we find out that the property is in fact stolen. Property marking and recording serial numbers is making headways into being able to trace residents’ stolen property and in turn catching the criminals who are targeting our neighbourhoods. This type of work also ensures that law-abiding residents themselves can be confident that the items they are buying are legitimate.”

• Supporting document - crime log figures
• Previous Crime Log (released December 2009)
• Previous Crime Log (released November 2009)
• Previous Crime Log (released September 2009)