Crime
County's police exceeds national standards
Hertfordshire ended the year with crime at its lowest level since 2002, making it now one of the safest counties in England.1 The number of crimes fell by over 12%; which is equivalent to over 10,000 fewer victims. Violent crime fell by almost 21%, there was a considerable 34% fall in serious violent crime and with 227 less offences, robbery fell by 23%. Home Burglary is now a priority focus, having been at its lowest level in 2006/7, there were 240 more offences in 2007/8.
The Constabulary improved its performance in crime solving during 2007/8; raising the detection rate to 29.6%. Established by the Constabulary in partnership with the courts and other service providers, the new “Choices and Consequences” programme has begun to impact on crime levels and detection rates. Focusing on rehabilitating prolific offenders, it offers co-ordinated support yet severe consequences should offenders not reform their behaviour.
Indicator CR1 - Recorded Crime
Satisfaction and confidence
The Constabulary's Safer Neighbourhood Teams are now at full strength with over 700 officers, PCSOs and Special Constables working locally across the county. Their presence has increased police visibility and contributes towards heightened levels of confidence and satisfaction in police services. In particular, 96% of victims surveyed said they were 'fairly' or 'very satisfied' with their treatment by Constabulary Officers and staff.
| Crime1 | 2005/06 | 2006/07 | 2007/08 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total numbers of crime | 95,273 | 91,408 | 80,239 |
| Selection Detection Rate | 22.5% | 28.7% | 29.6% |
| - Offences resulting in the offender receiving a caution, conviction, or taken into consideration by a court | 20,370 | 26,554 | 23,741 |
| - Home burglaries | 4,733 | 4,298 | 4,538 |
| - Serious violent crimes | 7,706 | 7,064 | 5,496 |
| - Robberies | 933 | 985 | 758 |
| - Vehicle crimes | 12,506 | 11,197 | 10,726 |
| - Offences leading to a charge, caution or summons for the trafficking and supply of Class A drugs1 | 362 | 274 | 261 |
Indicator CR1 - Recorded Crime
User satisfaction with service delivery against crimes
Source: Hertfordshire Constabulary 2008
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| Public Safety and Confidence | 2004/05 | 2005/06 | 2006/07 | 2007/08 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of people killed or seriously injured road traffic collisions2 | 668 | 556 | 567 | 501* |
| Immediate response incidents attended within 15 minutes | 92.1% | 90.7% | 90.6% | 92.2% |
| 999 calls answered within 10 seconds | 81.9% | 91.7% | 93.0% | 92.7% |
| Non-emergency calls answered within 30 seconds | N/A | 74.2% | 84.2% | 89.2% |
| Percentage of People that think anti-social behaviour is a major concern2 | - | 17.8% (2005) | 18.5% (2006) | 13.7% (2007) |
| Number of people that think vandalism, graffiti and other deliberate damage to property or vehicles is a problem in their local area | - | - | 41% | 29% |
| People who think that using or drug dealing is a major concern2 | - | - | 28% | 24.7% |
| Fear of Crime (British Crime Survey: Fear Index) | - | - | 18.85 | 11.95 |
| User Satisfaction of 999 callers with ease of contact | - | - | 96.2% | 93.5% |
| User Satisfaction of 999 callers with their treatment by call handlers | - | - | 94.9% | 93.4% |
| User Satisfaction: non emergency callers with the ease of contact | - | - | 91.5% | 90.4% |
| User Satisfaction: non emergency callers, their treatment by call handlers | - | - | 94.4% | 95.3% |
Hertfordshire police was given national recognition for its practices in citizen focus and quality of service in 2008
In 2008 Hertfordshire exceeded all its emergency 999 call handling and attendance targets, providing a rapid response service to those most in need. A new Control Centre opened during 2007 and this purpose-built facility, with state-of-the-art equipment, contributed towards improved and high performance in this area. The Constabulary also met its targets for answering calls to the switchboard. Over 90% of callers were satisfied by the ease of contact and over 95% were satisfied with their treatment by staff.
Hertfordshire Constabulary 1 of only 3 police forces to exceed national performance standards
In a national inspection of all police forces in England and Wales, conducted by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC), results of which were released during November 2008, Hertfordshire's police force was rated as just 1 of 3 to exceed national citizen focus and quality of service performance standards. The 2007/8 Performance Assessment Report was the force's fifth positive report in succession from HMIC.
Police Numbers and Partnerships
There are now record numbers of police officers, Police Community Support Officers, Police Staff and Special Constables in the county. Over 700 of these work in or with Safer Neighbourhood Teams. They are supported by 24 hour intervention response teams and specialist units like dogs, roads policing, forensic Scenes of Crime Officers and firearms. The Constabulary works to the local Police Authority's visibility targets ensuring its officers are most visible and working within their local community.
Volunteers and partners in local communities play a significant role in Hertfordshire's crime reduction. Our county has one of the most active Special Constabularies in England; volunteer officers contribute over 89,000 hours a year. The Neighbourhood Watch Scheme rises from strength to strength and now over 6,000 schemes operate across the county. Other Watch Schemes have also been established, such as Shop Watch and Pub Watch. The number of these are growing and play an important role in the community. Working jointly with local councils, agencies and licensed traders also paid dividends, particularly on Friday and Saturday evenings in town centres. Initiatives like taxi marshalling and door staff registration schemes contributed to a 22.3% fall in serious and other wounding crimes.
Use of new technology and powers
- Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR): As explained in 2006, ANPR helps keep criminals and dangerous drivers off roads. Allowing police to identify uninsured or stolen cars or those linked with criminals, it is used throughout the county, leading to thousands of uninsured car seizures and raising arrests by Roads Policing Officers.
- Scientific support and forensic capability: Herts Police continues to invest in software and skills increasing criminal forensic identifications.
- Proceeds of Crime Act: The Constabulary is making further use of the Act to ensure crime does not pay, allowing the targeting, seizure and confiscation of criminal assets. In 2007/8 over £3.3 million was taken out of the pockets of criminals.
ANPR technology provides proactive tools to deter criminals
1 Source: Hertfordshire Constabulary. Website: www.herts.police.uk
2 British Crime Survey www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/crimeew0708.html