SAFETY

Overview

9 out of 10 local councils have community safety agreed as a top corporate priority.

60 per cent of local councils report that levels of crime had decreased in their local areas over the last three years.

Local councils in England and Wales act as lead agencies on 51 out of 84 recorded Neighbourhood Warden Schemes, collectively providing an estimated 214 wardens to local communities.

96 per cent of local councils have one or more members of staff dedicated to community safety work.

Data from the People’s Panel shows 63 per cent of the public are satisfied with the police service, and 59 per cent are
satisfied with the fire service.

37 per cent of adults say disorder in their area has a negative impact on their quality of life.

The British Crime Survey reveals crime fell by 14 per cent between 1999 and 2001/2. Between 1995 and 2000 crime fell
by 33 per cent.

Between 2001 and 2002 just over 13 million crimes were committed against adults, a decrease of 2 per cent on figures for 2000.

Locally

Reducing crime, disorder and anti-social behaviour are high priorities. The percentage of local residents citing crime as an important personal concern increased from 32% to 43% between 1999 and 2001.

An audit of crime and disorder within the borough identified what are the problems facing residents as well as their concerns around crime:
- crime is more prevalent around the town centres and transport interchanges within
the borough,
- alcohol is a factor in a large amount of violent crime and
- robbery is on the increase, especially where mobile phones are involved.

Crime reduction – targets
Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships are required to set annual and five-year targets for crime reduction against key indicators. The Police lead on these and the targets for last year were to:

Reduce recorded burglaries by 2%.

Reduce the level of motor vehicle crime by 5%.

Reduce the level of street crime (Robbery and Theft by Snatching) by 2%.

Increase the number of judicial disposals (Charges, Summons or Cautions) for
the supply or possession with intent to supply, Class A drugs by 10%.


Hammersmith and Fulham signed a local Public Service Agreement (PSA) with Government with the intention of further improving the services to local people that the Council provides. This agreement covers the period 1 April 2002 to 31 March 2005 and there are 12 targets focused on tackling criminal and anti-social behaviour, employment, education, transport and cost efficiency.

For crime reduction, the targets are:

To reduce robbery in Hammersmith & Fulham
Indicator: Number of robberies per year in the borough (measured by the Metropolitan Police)
Current performance: 1212 (2001-02 - first five months of 2001-2 annualised)
Target: A reduction of 22.1% on the number of robberies in 2001-02

To reduce domestic burglary in Hammersmith & Fulham
Indicator: Number of domestic burglaries in Hammersmith & Fulham (source: Metropolitan Police)
Current performance: 2,170 domestic burglaries occurred in Hammersmith & Fulham in 2000-1, which is a rate of 27.6 per 1000 households
Target: 1,914 domestic burglaries

To reduce the rate of re-offending of all young offenders
Indicator: The rate of reoffending of young offenders aged 10 to 17, as measured by data specified by the Youth Justice Board and collected by the Youth Offending Team.
Current performance: 14% re-offending rate for October - December 2000 Pre court cases
54% re-offending rate for October - December 2000 cases disposed of through court orders.
Aggregated re-offending rate, 31% for all cases monitored for October -
December 2000 to December 2001.
Target: 23%

To improve the effectiveness of the legal system's response to the crime of domestic violence
Indicators
The number of charges of perpetrators of domestic violence (Source: Hammersmith & Fulham Police statistics)
Current performance: 154 in 2000-1
Target: 232

The numbers of perpetrators taking part in prevention programmes (Source: West London Magistrates Court)
Current performance: 6 sentenced to take part in prevention programmes (November 2000 - April 2001 figures annualised)
Target: 20

The number of repeat victimisations. There is uncertainty about the accuracy of existing measurement systems. The Standing Together partnership will establish a baseline for 2002-03, and agree this baseline with DTLR and the Home Office.
Current performance: To be established. (The estimate for 2001-02 on existing measurements is 238).
Target: 9.7 per cent reduction on 2002-03 baseline (to be established)


To reduce alcohol and drug related anti-social & criminal activity
Indicators
Number of CAD calls relating to disorder in Shepherds Bush Green area (Hammersmith & Fulham Police statistics)
Current performance: 1,544 in 2000-01
Target: 1,142

Number of assaults in Shepherds Bush Green area (Hammersmith & Fulham Police statistics)
Current performance: 330 in 2000-01
Target: 277

Judicial disposals for supply or possession with intent to supply class A drugs in Hammersmith & Fulham (Source: Metropolitan Police statistics)
Current performance: 40 in 2000-01
Target: 58