Since September last year, the County Council’s Scrutiny Committee for Community Services has carried out a wide-ranging review into the issue and the result is a series of recommendations aimed at improving safety for communities in the county.
Chairman of the Scrutiny Committee is Councillor Barry Taylor. He said: "Crime and the fear of crime are of real concern to the residents of the county. The stats show that crime figures in Sussex are relatively low compared to the national average but people are still very fearful of crime. That is why the review has made some important recommendations.
"We have looked at a huge amount of evidence and interviewed about a dozen representatives from key organisations during this review. A lot of excellent work is being carried out by the Police, local authorities and partners and this report suggests how we can build on that to make our communities safer and to make people feel safer.”
Recommendations put forward for the council’s Cabinet to consider next month include:
- priority should be given to public reassurance and confidence building activities in future crime reduction programmes
- more monitoring and evaluation of crime reduction schemes should be carried out to ensure resources are targeted to what works
- Children’s Services and the Youth Development Service should investigate more projects that break down the barriers between young and older people
- consideration should be given to increasing the ability of Trading Standards to be involved in more joint activities with partners carrying out ‘test purchases’
- a review of street lighting, which can reduce the public’s fear of crime should be carried out and reported back to the Scrutiny Committee in December.
In both Hastings and Wealden, which were chosen as the focus for the review, people’s perceptions for feeling unsafe were similar – youths loitering and causing annoyance, drunken behaviour, feeling vulnerable to attack, not enough police on the streets and media reporting of crime.
The report recommends that the good work already being carried out by the County Council including initiatives by its Trading Standards team and Youth Development Service to reduce crime and the fear of crime should be extended.
Notes to editors
The review was carried out by a project board consisting of County Councillors Philip Howson (Chairman), Phil Scott and Roy Martin, and Dr Laurie Bush from Sussex Police Authority. To view the full report, go to the meeting papers for the Community Services Scrutiny Committee.
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