Crime Continues To Fall Across South Bucks

The number of vehicle crimes, burglaries and robberies in South Bucks has fallen sharply over recent months despite the recession, following a number of targeted operations and awareness campaigns by South Bucks District Council, Thames Valley Police and other partners.

Latest figures show that the level of serious acquisitive crime has fallen by 20.6% over the past months and is also well below the predicted level of offending for 2010. The fall contradicts fears that acquisitive crime, such as burglaries, would rise because of the recession.

South Bucks District Councillor Shorne Tilbey, Portfolio Holder for Community, says "Our residents repeatedly tell us that crime and fear of crime are very important factors affecting their quality of life. Working in partnership with the Police and others the Council has put in place a strategy to reduce crime and anti-social behaviour which is now bearing fruit as evidenced by these latest statistics.'

Apart from effective offender management, targeted operations and patrols, the South Bucks Community Safety Partnership has carried out a number of initiatives to educate residents about how they can help protect themselves from crime. Some of the successful initiatives run during 2009 include, ‘Not In My Neighbourhood’ week, where over 30 partnership activities were run to reduce crime and anti-social behaviour in the District; The ‘Here’s A Bright Idea Campaign’, where timer switches were given to commuters at train stations to encourage them to leave a light on when they are work to make their home look occupied; and the KEYP SAFE project, which encourages residents with high value cars to keep their keys out of view from thieves.

Planned initiatives include:

• The Clear Car Campaign - where letters will be sent to vehicle owners who leave items on display
• Cocooning - where neighbours adjacent to burgled properties will also be given crime prevention tools and advice
• SelectaDNA - property marking kits are to be given out to residents in roads that have had more than one burglary over the past two years
• Nominate a Neighbour Scheme - part of Operation Sundown, which aims to reduce distraction burglaries in vulnerable areas of South Bucks.

The projects mentioned are all data led and evaluated on completion.

Chief Inspector Paul Cook, LPA Commander for South Bucks says: "Most crimes in South Bucks are committed by criminals from elsewhere and our robust management of these offenders is paying off. South Bucks District Council and our other partner agencies have been hugely supportive and for that I am very grateful but it is important that people do not underestimate how effective personal measures they take to protect themselves from crime can be."