The Best Guide for the TN34 Area

Crime down 27% in Hastings & St Leonards

The Safer Hastings Partnership has achieved a 27% reduction in crime in Hastings & St Leonards over the last three years.

The reduction, which is in the crime types featured in the British Crime Survey, includes a 60% drop in domestic burglary, a 55% fall in robbery and a 48% reduction in theft of vehicles.

These massive drops in crime in Hastings & St Leonards amount to almost 2,200 fewer victims of crime now compared with the baseline year (April 2003-March 2004).

Chair of the Safer Hastings Partnership, Chief Inspector Andy Gooch, said, "In 2005, the Government Office for the South East (GOSE) set the Safer Hastings Partnership the very ambitious target of reducing overall crime by 23.5%. We are delighted to have achieved and exceeded this target, which comes on the back of a 9% reduction in 2004-05 and a 7% reduction in 2003-04.

"This is the result of partners working together to tackle crime, anti-social behaviour and the fear of crime, and particularly to deal with those very few people - the prolific offenders - who cause the majority of crime. But we will not become complacent - we are already in the process of setting our targets for the next three years to keep crime falling in our town."

In April 2005, the Partnership launched the Safer Hastings Strategy 2005-08, setting a range of targets by which it would aim to achieve the 23.5% reduction set by GOSE. The SHP has met the majority of the targets outlined in the Strategy (see table below), and has exceeded many by staggering amounts - up to 50% on top of the target. This has been achieved by massive reductions in British Crime Survey (BCS) crime types. Theft of a vehicle is down by 48%, while theft from a vehicle has fallen 43% and vehicle interference is down 46%.

On top of this, domestic burglary has fallen 60%, theft of a cycle is down 18% and theft from person has dropped 30%. Robbery (stealing with threats or violence) has also been reduced, with more than 100 fewer victims in the last 12 months than the baseline year, which is a reduction of 55%.

Woundings (ABH and GBH) fell by 32% and criminal damage dropped by 11%, though this did not meet the Safer Hastings Strategy 2005-08 target, which was to reduce it by 25%.

The only BCS crime type that has risen in Hastings & St Leonards is common assault, which increased by 91%. This includes verbal threats and the increase is in part due to Sussex Police's robust approach to tackling incidents of public disorder, particularly in Hastings town centre at night.

In every other type of crime, the SHP has exceeded the targets set in its 2005-08 Strategy.

The SHP's core partners are East Sussex County Council, East Sussex Fire & Rescue Service, Hastings Borough Council, Sussex Police, Sussex Police Authority, the Hastings Primary Care Trust, 1066 Housing Association and the Hastings Community Network.

Find out more about the Safer Hastings Partnership and its plans for the next three years at: http://www.saferhastings.co.uk/.

For more info, please contact Natalie Williams, Communications Manager, Safer Hastings Partnership, (01424) 451843, nwilliams@hastings.gov.uk.