Fewer crimes mean fewer victims – but despite this, the public’s fear of crime in many ways has lagged behind the real picture of crime levels.
From conversations I’ve had with people across the county, I know that fear of crime remains high for many.
Perhaps it is in our nature to remember those stories about rare but shocking serious crimes more than reports revealing dry stats and figures.
I don’t want to downplay the very real impact crime has on victims.
It is true that all crimes, from minor thefts through to serious assaults or even murders, have a devastating effect on individuals, families and communities. This is something we must never lose sight of.
But I’d like to introduce some balance and proportion to the debate on crime levels – and fair play to the Gazette for giving me this forum where I can relay my views directly to the reader.
At a meeting between the main public authorities in Dacorum recently, the latest set of crime figures for the borough were discussed.
Overall crime was down by 14 per cent across Dacorum between April and September compared to the same period last year, and burglaries were down by a fifth.
The borough now has the third lowest dwelling burglary and vehicle-related crime rates in the county.
On top of all that, Hertfordshire Constabulary is one of the best performing forces in the UK, with crime generally low across the whole county.
Overall there were 1,600 fewer crimes during this period compared to the same period last year.
This is the result of a lot of hard work by police officers from your neighbourhood PCSOs and PCs patrolling Hemel, Berkhamsted, Tring and elsewhere, right to the top of the organisation – and including partner agencies who work with the force on issues that have an impact on levels of crime.
The work goes on, of course, but this is a very encouraging start in Dacorum to the first full year of Police and Crime Commissioners.
What is particularly satisfying for me is where my role has made a difference.
Part of my job is to set the priorities for the force and it is in these areas that we have seen some of the best results, such as in tackling anti-social behaviour (ASB).
ASB is a blight on communities and does so much to cause alarm and distress among residents, as well as raising fear and concern about crime levels.
The public told me that tackling this was important to them and I responded by setting it as a priority for the force. I was very pleased to see that reports of ASB in Dacorum dropped by a third and countywide there were 6,000 fewer incidents between April and September compared to the previous year.
The public spoke and I listened.
With this in mind I have made it clear that whatever financial challenges the force faces I want local policing in Hertfordshire to continue.
Having neighbourhood officers embedded in the community is, I believe, the best way to reinforce confidence in policing and reassuring the public about the safety of our streets.