Autocrime drops in Bridgend
Latest annual figures released by the Home Office today (Thursday 16th July) show that car crime in Bridgend fell by 13.4 per cent in Bridgend County in the past year and detection rates for autocrime soared by an impressive 64.3 per cent in the same period.
The figures also show that robberies have been reduced by 10.8 per cent, down to 33 offences during the year.
While there was a four percent increase in dwelling burglaries , commercial burglaries fell by 2 cent and saw a 38.6 per cent increase in detections.
Overall during the year there were 88 fewer victims of crime across the county.
Acting Chief Superintendent Liane James of Bridgend police said: “The performance of our police officers and staff in Bridgend during the past year has been excellent and we are working to keep Bridgend a safe place to live, work and visit.
“We have seen some excellent work carried out through the year to combat autocrime – a distressing and costly crime for victims. Some 184 fewer victims of autocrime were recorded during the year.
“Our officers will continue to work to drive down crime in Bridgend as well as increasing detection rates, making our community a hostile environment for criminals to operate.
“Residents across Bridgend can be reassured that their police officers and PCSOs are committed to targeting those who commit crime in their area. Their behaviour will not be tolerated and they will be brought to justice.
Acting Chief Superintendent James added: “We recognise that it is not all about figures and we are working very hard on issues such as making people feel safer and ensuring the perception of crime reflects reality.
“We are always striving to improve the service we provide to our communities and ensuring victims of crime receive the best possible level of service.
“Our Neighbourhood Policing Teams are continuing to engage with their communities in a range of different ways and the Safer Bridgend Partnership is working to prevent crime and anti-social behaviour.
“Through the national and local policing pledge we are working to improve contact management, victim and customer care and community engagement. South Wales is an extremely safe part of the country to live as can be seen from the home office statistics. However some parts of our community still feel worried and in fear of crime when in fact they are very safe; we need to tell them they are safe and do our utmost to reassure them.
“It is also vitally important that members of the public are satisfied with the service that my staff provides in order for them to have confidence in the policing of their communities. We will continue to build on these results with the help of our partners and our communities and ensure we continue to keep South Wales Safe.”
Latest crime information can be found via the crime mapping link at www.south-wales.police.uk