It’s Official: Bridgend is one of the safest places to live in South Wales
Bridgend Division of the South Wales Police which covers Bridgend, Porthcawl and Maesteg released their annual crime figures today revealing a fantastic drop of a 6.4% drop in all crime for the year 2007 compared to 2006.
Burglary dwellings, criminal damage, auto crime and wounding have significantly dropped, resulting in over 400 less victims throughout 2007.
These figures are the lowest they have been in 5 years, and will hopefully continue to drop as the public become more confident and aware of the preventative measures they can take to help not only themselves but also the police in preventing crimes and of course, lowering the number of victims.
Chief Inspector Paul Murphy stressed however that the public must not get complacent that crime is dropping. “I am very satisfied that the hard work of the Police and our partners has resulted in a significant drop in crime across the borough, however, I want to emphasize that the People living within the borough are able to have an even greater influence on overall crime by working with us and taking note of the many crime prevention messages that are given. They can help us to continue to reduce crime and of course their quality of life in Bridgend year on year.”
PC Gwyn Batten, Crime prevention officer agreed stating that:
“By just taking simple steps such as checking your doors and windows are secure before you go to bed, and removing all items on show from vehicles, crime and victims in the Borough can be reduced even further”.
Partnership working has played a massive part in the drop in crime. Safer Bridgend Community Safety Partnership brings together the relevant agencies such as CCTV, Bridgend County Borough Council, South Wales Fire Service etc to discuss how to reduce crime and provide the best service to victims of incidents. As a result of this, results can be achieved quickly through agencies working efficiently and effectively for the benefit of the public.
Jayne Thomas, from Bridgend CCTV added “Information sharing gets us further, quicker. Through continued partnership working we can really make a difference, which has been proven through the fantastic results through the Rat on a Rat campaign and the latest crime figures”.
2008 looks set to be another safe year in the Borough, with several crime prevention initiatives in the pipeline to remind people to take care of their belongings and safety, and with the upcoming launch of the next three year plan for Bridgend’s Community Safety team, Safer Bridgend will be out in force spreading the message further.