Winning the war on crime

9:02am Wednesday 30th April 2008

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The latest crime figures for the district were released by the Home Office this month and show an overall drop in incidents of approximately seven per cent. Overall there are a few areas which stand out - Emma Clark asks those in charge of policing what it means for St Albans.

WHEN you think of crime, St Albans is not an area that instantly springs to mind and the latest figures reflect that.

But the fear of crime is something that all forces have to tackle, and Hertfordshire is no different.

Following the release of the April 2007 to April 2008 figures, the most reassuring statistic is the fall in violent crime.

From murders to common assault, the number of victims in St Albans has dropped significantly this year - by 25 per cent in fact.

St Albans Chief Inspector Sue Wheatley believes the latest results reflect Operation Rhino, a police initiative to crack down on city centre violence when drinkers spill out of bars.

It centres around a large police presence which see officers patrolling taxi queues, handing out water and being on hand at a mobile police unit.

Chief Inspector Wheatley said: "There's been a big drop in figures for violent crime in St Albans.

"Primarily I want the city centre to be a place where all generations can go in the evenings.

"Most city centres are portrayed as a place where people get drunk, lie around and fight but St Albans is not like that.

"Operation Rhino is a robust way of tackling any problems that might happen in the city centre and making ourselves available to those who could be in difficulty."

But drug offences in the district have doubled.

However the police claim this is a positive rather than negative step with Chief Inspector Simon Hawkins, of the drugs tasking and co-ordination team, saying this shows they are getting to the root of the problem in St Albans.

He said: "In the last year we have taken a really proactive response to drugs and we are reaping the rewards.

"Some people might think it's gone through the roof but really this is positive.

"You can't really compare drug offences to other offences like burglary, because for us success is based on the more numbers we get, it shows we are finding it.

"In the last year we have had more capacity to work on drugs and that is something that will continue.

"We are getting more information through stronger links with the community, through neighbourhood watch schemes and our Police Community Support Officers.

"People in St Albans are confident to tell us what they know anonymously.

"This sends out a clear message that we tackle drugs robustly."

Another message that people are taking on board is the need to protect your personal information, with ID fraud always a risk.

The figures reveal that fraud and forgery have dropped by 25 per cent, but Detective Inspector Andy Theakston, of Hertfordshire Constabulary's Economic Crime Unit, warns that we should not get complacent.

He said: "We are delighted with the figures.

"People are becoming more aware that there is a fraud problem; there has been a lot of publicity about it from the police and the media.

"But people should not become complacent and neither will we - this type of crime has not gone away.

"Everyone still needs to take care to protect their identity and keep these figures falling."