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Crime plummets in Essex, figures reveal

Friday, July 18, 2008, 11:37

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CRIME rates in Basildon have plummeted by almost a third, according to new figures released on Thursday.

Home Office statistics show the town leads the way with the greatest fall in the county, but there are promising results for crime across the whole of Essex.

County councillor Tracey Chapman, the cabinet member charged with ambitions to make Essex the safest county in England within five years, said: “In real terms, 13,017 fewer crimes were recorded in 2007-08 than in 2003-04. This is a terrific result and reflects the hard work that is being done across the board to drive crime down.

“Every single district in the county has seen a drop in crime, with Rochford and Basildon leading the way with a 33 per cent fall and 27 per cent fall respectively.”

The figures show that Essex is succeeding in its battle against crime.

Incidents such as criminal damage, common assault, robbery and theft, have dropped by 19.9 per cent since 2003–04.

This exceeds the government's target for Essex of 16.2 per cent.

Further encouraging statistics show the county's crime rate per 1,000 population has also fallen from 77 last year to 71 in 2007-08, making it one of the safest counties in England.

Cllr Chapman added: “Against this measure Essex now ranks as the eighth safest county in England. We still have a lot of work to do if we are to reach number one, but we are moving in the right direction.”

Impressive drops in criminal damage and car thefts have been identified in several areas across the county, down by more than 24 per cent since 2003-04 and 26 per cent since the same year respectively.

Cllr Chapman said: “Of course any amount of crime is unacceptable, but the gains that have been made are impressive and everyone involved in achieving these results deserves congratulating.

“Serious crime will always make the headlines, but this sometimes makes people feel that the world is more dangerous than it really is. Hopefully, the Essex public can take some reassurance from these figures.”