The 2012/13 performance assessment is now
available and I am extremely pleased that once again this police area has
achieved outstanding success. We have continued to reduce crime whilst enhancing
our crime detection rate. All crime has been reduced by 9.8% and 27.9% of all
crime reported has been detected. We were the second best performing Local
Police Area in Thames Valley delivering;
· A
15.6% reduction in Violent Crime
· A 0.3% reduction in Dwelling
Burglary
· A 27.5% detection rate in Dwelling
Burglary
· A 30.3% detection rate in Serious
Sexual Offences
· A 47.4% detection rate in Violence
against the Person with Injury
These figures should be viewed in the
context of our continuing reduction of crime over the last ten years which can
be seen below;
|
2003/4
|
2004/5
|
2005/6
|
2006/7
|
2007/8
|
2008/9
|
2009/10
|
2010/11
|
2011/12
|
2012/13
|
|
14740
|
15675
|
14635
|
15017
|
14220
|
13475
|
12351
|
12076
|
10178
|
9159
|
Over the last ten
years we have reduced crime by 38%, this is a tremendous achievement. This is a
district that can rightly take pride in being one of the safest places to live
in the country. Indeed;
· Overall Crime is at
its lowest level in over 15 years
· Burglary Dwelling is
at its lowest level in over 15 years
· Personal Robbery is
at its lowest level in over 15 years
· Theft from Vehicle
is at its lowest level in over 15 years
· Total Violence
against the Person is at its lowest level since 2001/2002
One of the crimes that we have particularly
focussed on during this period has been dwelling burglary. This is a pernicious
crime that can have a devastating impact on those in the community whose homes
are invaded and where often irreplaceable items are stolen. We have reduced
these offences by 57.3%.
2003/4
|
2004/5
|
2005/6
|
2006/7
|
2007/8
|
2008/9
|
2009/10
|
2010/11
|
2011/12
|
2012/13
|
844
|
806
|
659
|
635
|
514
|
536
|
580
|
527
|
361
|
360
|
These figures represent 5,581 less victims of
crime and almost 500 less victims of burglary a year. This level of performance
doesn’t just happen, it is delivered by committed, professional Police Officers
and Police Staff who care about their local communities. I genuinely believe
that we have made South Oxfordshire and the Vale of White Horse a better place
for local communities.
We are determined to support victims of crime
and vulnerable members of our communities, and will continue to do this through
a number of programmes, such as Op Vera, our support network for elderly victims
of crime. There is a huge amount we are doing together to enhance the lives of
those within our districts that we can be rightly proud of achieving.
We have challenged offenders in a way they
have never experienced before and we continue to robustly pursue these
individuals on a daily basis. We make it clear that we will not tolerate
criminal behaviour and together with our partners ensure individuals recognise
criminality is not an easy option, we instead encourage them to accept one of
the many positive intervention options available to them to discourage offending
behaviour.
We have enjoyed considerable success, and
whilst it is only right to reflect and recognise our achievements it is also
time to look forward and consider what we need to do this coming year and build
on these achievements.
This year we will continue to work to reduce
burglary, violent crime and rural crime offences. It will be a challenge to
further reduce burglary and violent crime although I am confident the strides we
have made locally to manage offenders and our weekend night time economy give us
a tremendous opportunity to do this.
We are extremely conscious that an increasing
number of criminals are targeting rural communities, preying on isolated and
vulnerable areas and targeting these individuals. This is a priority for us this
year. Already we have increased the number of resources patrolling rural areas
and had some notable successes in arresting travelling criminals who mistakenly
believed they could come here and commit crime with impunity.
If we are to further reduce crime we recognise
that we will increasingly need the help of the public and we will therefore be
looking to develop our Neighbourhood Watch Schemes across the district. These
schemes are a crucial element of our crime prevention network, often providing
the eyes and ears that prevent crime happening whilst generating information to
help us identify and prosecute offenders. We would welcome the opportunity to
further discuss developing Neighbourhood Watch Schemes within your community. If
you would like to discuss this please do let me know and I will arrange for a
member of your Neighbourhood Team to make contact with you.
As I regularly point out we have not reduced
crime on our own. I am extremely grateful to the continuing help and support
from both South Oxfordshire and the Vale of White Horse District Councils, the
Community Safety Partnership, the volunteers who support us through the Special
Constabulary, Neighbourhood watch and the Neighbourhood Action Groups and, of
course, the local communities of South Oxfordshire and Vale of White
Horse.
Thank you to all of you for your support this
year, it has been very much appreciated and I look forward to continuing to work
with you over the coming year.
Best
Wishes
Andy Boyd
Superintendent
South Oxfordshire and the Vale of White Horse
LPA
