THERE were 5,000 fewer victims of crime in the Thames Valley in 2004-05 compared to the previous financial year, according to an annual performance report presented to the Police Authority.
Thames Valley Police say that these statistics confirm that detection rates across all crime types have risen to 26.3 per cent compared to 23 per cent in 2003-04, bringing Thames Valley Police in line with the other seven most similar forces in the country.
This demonstrates, they say, the ongoing success of an action plan launched in June 2004 to improve the detection rate, which focused on enhancing investigative training and the better sharing of good practice.
In a statement today, the force stated that it has far exceeded its 5% reduction targets set for robbery, household burglary and vehicle crime with 13.9 per cent, 18.3 per cent and 12.5 per cent reductions respectively. These, it added, have been achieved through ongoing work including crime reduction, working closely with partner agencies, targeting known offenders and more effective use of forensics in operations including Operation Robbery and Safer Homes.
Between April 2004 and January 2005, the Force achieved a 5.8 per cent reduction in road traffic collisions resulting in death or serious injury ? exceeding its target of 4%.
The statement went on to say: “In the same period, the total number of offenders brought to justice increased by over 23 per cent ? dwarfing the five per cent increase target.”
Deputy Chief Constable, Sara Thornton, said: “I am delighted we are seeing a drop in crime, particularly robbery, burglary and car crime. We will continue to focus our policing activity around crime reduction and detection and, together with our partners, hope to see even more improvements.
“I would like to congratulate all police officers and staff for their hard work that has resulted in a rise in our overall detection rate. This means that more than 5,500 crimes have been detected this financial year compared to last year, an achievement of which we should be proud.
“There is work still to be done around certain detections and we are continuing to review our approach and ensure our housekeeping is right. Although the rises in dwelling burglary and robbery detections are below target, they should be viewed in the context of significant reductions the Force has achieved in these offences between April 2004 and March 2005 ? during this period there were 2659 fewer victims of burglary and 318 fewer robberies compared to the previous year. Unaudited figures since March this year show that this decline is continuing.
“The reduction in serious injury and death on the roads is the result of work by Roads Policing officers and our road safety partners. But there were still 130 people killed and more than 9,500 injured on our roads last year. The causes of this unnecessary waste of life are well known – speed, drunk and drugged driving, failure to wear seat belts, dangerous and careless driving and driving when tired. We will continue to work tirelessly with our partners to reduce this unacceptable loss of life.
“Our call handling continues to improve, with 86 per cent of non-emergency calls answered within 20 seconds between April and June this year and less than two per cent of calls lost. The Force is committed to helping the public and sets extremely high standards in the arena of call handling and in February we started the recruitment process for a further 49 call handlers to help us answer more calls promptly and deal with them efficiently.
“The reduction in sickness levels among police officers and staff is another achievement that is the result of effective management, a robust sickness policy to ensure staff are supported and promptly referred to specialist departments where appropriate.
“The Force faces a number of challenges, particularly in light of recent events, that rely on engagement with our communities to overcome.”
Photo: Sara Thornton, Deputy Chief Constable of Thames Valley Police