Leading the fight against crime

Jul 20 2007 by Vicky Anderson, Liverpool Daily Post

Merseyside is bucking the national trend – by significantly reducing incidents of crime and violence.Vicky Anderson reports

MERSEYSIDE Police has seen the biggest reduction in crime of any force in the country over the last 12 months – saving the region nearly £200m, figures released today reveal.

Overall, crime has fallen on Merseyside by 11%, which equates to nearly 20,000 incidents, according to annual crime statistics released by the Home Office.

The force says its approach of Total Policing – war on crime and support for victims – has been the key to it success, and it is “well on the way to becoming the best in the country”.

Violent crime has seen the most significant drop, with a 25% reduction, equivalent to 9,000 fewer crimes.

Merseyside is bucking the national trend with an 8% fall in robberies, compared to a general 3% rise.

The statistics also reveal that sexual offences on Merseyside are down 20%; drugs offences down 15%, vehicle crime down 12%; criminal damage down 4% and burglary down 3%.

The number of arrests made has increased in the last 12 months by 42%.

All in all, it is estimated this has saved the regional economy an almost staggering £192m, in terms of the cost each crime has on the victim, employer, the insurance industry, health service, and criminal justice system.

Merseyside Chief Constable Bernard Hogan-Howe last night attributed much of the success to his policy of Total Policing, which he described as having had a “tremendous impact”.

He said bi-monthly crackdowns on different themes had helped increase arrests on everything from traffic offences to drug crime, under the TP banner.

He said successes were also down to massive investment in staffing and new technologies – like Automatic Number Plate Recognition cameras, which have helped officers track criminals and seize 18,000 vehicles since April 2006.

The force is also the only one in the country to have increased the size of its traffic department - by 40 per cent in two years.

“I am proud of the achievements made in crime reduction over the last 12 months, but that does not mean that we can become complacent, said Mr Hogan-Howe.

“We know that the situation is not perfect everywhere and there is still work that needs to be done and we will endeavour to continue to put resources in to those areas where there are problems.

“The Police Service has been criticised by some elements of the media because the latest statistics show that certain crime categories such as criminal damage and robbery have increased nationally.

“Those same figures show that crime on Merseyside is down and that we are the best achieving Force in the country.”

He praised the Matrix and Force Crimes operations Units for their efforts to tackling mid- and high- level gun and drugs crime, the new Axis anti social behaviour taskforce had already arrested 900 people. He said: “When I came to Merseyside Police nearly three years ago I made a promise to the people of Merseyside and to my own staff that I was determined to make Merseyside Police the best police force in the country,”

“I am delighted to say that statistics released this week show that the Force is well on its way to achieving this aim.

‘CRIME on Merseyside is falling and the region is becoming safer and that’s not down to luck.”

Assistant Chief Constable Simon Byrne said: “Crime on Merseyside is falling and there are fewer victims of crime in the area.

“That can only be good news for those working, living and visiting Merseyside.

“Total Policing is about a total war on crime and total support for victims. Today’s results show that this approach is working. Through blitzing crime hot-spots, we are creating an environment which makes it harder for criminals to operate.

“Through the use of new tactics and innovative technology, crime is reducing.”

Cllr Diane Clark, chairman of Merseyside Police Authority’s performance and scrutiny committee, added: “These are exciting times for the authority and the force.

“We’ve seen a lot of success in the last 12 months.

“Our aim is to be the best we can be for the people of Merseyside, and today I think we are moving towards that.”

In Cheshire the number of crimes fell by nearly 7%, with violent crimes down by more than 1,200.

Cheshire Constabulary said their approach to tackling violent behaviour associated with alcohol is working – with officers identifying areas where violent behaviour occurs and targeting them with highly visible and intrusive patrols.

Violent offences are down by 7%, theft of vehicles down 16%, theft from vehicles down 10%, and household burglaries down 6%, with 289 less households being victimised compared to the previous year.

Deputy Chief Constable Graeme Gerrard said: “It is excellent news that last year fewer people suffered the trauma of becoming a victim of crime.

“Making sure the people of Cheshire are safe and feel safe is what policing is all about.

“Cheshire has always been one of the safest places to live in England and I welcome the further reductions in number of crimes recorded last year.

“I am pleased to see the concerns highlighted by local people to our neighbourhood policing teams being addressed.

“Local communities highlight- ed that criminal damage was a concern for them and in response our neighbourhood policing teams have worked with local people to tackle this problem and as a result we have reduced crim- inal damage by 10%, the biggest reduction in the North West.”

LANCASHIRE’S recorded crime rate fell by 4%. In the county, there was a 7% reduction in violent crime, an 8% fall in domestic burglary, and a drop of 1% in thefts of and from vehicles.

Detective Chief Superintendent Graham Gardner said: “These figures show that with the help of our partners and members of the public we have matched or exceeded the national picture in many crucial areas.

“We are clearly very encouraged by this set of figures but acknowledge there is still more to be done to maintain and improve this position. Our aim is to continue to reduce crime further.”

Across the North West, crime fell by 4% compared to the national drop of just 2%.

Specifically, domestic burglary is down 3%; other burglary down 4%; vehicle crime down 4%; other theft down 4%; serious violent crime down 9%; other violence against the person down 1%; most serious sexual offences down 7%; other sexual offences down 8%.

However, drug offences are up 9% across England and Wales, and robbery is up 3%.

The British Crime Survey for 2006/ 2007 was also published yesterday.

It interviews members of the public to measure people's experience of crime, and as such it is generally accepted as the most authoritative and reliable indicator of crime trends.

BCS statistics reveal that rates of burglary, vehicle theft and violent crime in the North West were not significantly different than the England and Wales average, but the proportion of people with high levels of worry about those crimes is slightly higher in the North West than the national average.

The proportion of people perceiving high levels of anti-social behaviour was higher than the national average in Mersey- side but lower in Cheshire.

Overall, the risk of being a victim of crime has increased by 1% compared to 2005/ 2006, but has fallen from 40% at its peak in 1995 to 24% in the last 12 months – representing 5.5m fewer victims.

BCS violent crime remained stable. Vandalism was the only category to show a statistically significant change on last year, increasing by 10%.

vickyanderson@dailypost.co.uk