Community Safety

by Prue Bray on 27 August, 2009

An interesting conundrum for our local Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership, whose strategic board I am a member of:  what do we do about fear of crime?

Statistically, Wokingham Borough is one of the safest places to live in the entire country.  We have very very low rates of crime.  People – understandably – complain about anti-social behaviour, which we are doing our best to tackle.  And of course, the fact that, for example, there are very few burglaries is no consolation if you are the person who has been burgled.  But on the whole the borough is a pretty crime-free place when compared to everywhere else.

But although actual  crime is lower than most places, fear of crime is much higher.  So how do we persuade people that they don’t need to be afraid? 

It seems that people read about the worst areas in the country in the national press or hear about it via the news on TV, and think everywhere is the same.  And then there are unhelpful – and rather silly – statements by Conservative politicians comparing bits of the UK to the US: 3 fatal shootings last year in Manchester, I think it was, 391 in Baltimore, and Manchester has about 4 times as many people – thanks Chris Grayling MP for a ridiculous statement that Manchester now resembles Baltimore.  

But people are reluctant to let go of their opinions.  They just don’t believe us if we say Wokingham has almost no crime.  And even the act of talking about it draws attention to the subject, and tends to make people think we are trying to pull the wool over their eyes.

This is not going to be easy to solve. 

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