Fear of Crime

Hart is a very safe place to live.

The perception of crime is far greater than the reality. The elderly are the most fearful of crime even though statistics show they are the least likely to become a victim of crime.

The 2004 ‘Safer Hart’ Crime Audit has shown that in 6 crime types; violence against the person, sexual offences, robbery, burglary, theft of vehicle and theft from vehicle, Hart has a lower crime rate than the county and national average.

Community Policing is a high priority with each beat having its own dedicated officer. Hart will soon be having Community Wardens and Accredited Community Safety Officers (ACSO’s) and Police Community Safety Officers (PCSO’s) in and around the district, providing a visible uniformed presence and point of contact for local residents.

Hart’s nationally accredited CCTV system is monitored 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

Both graphs show that residents of Hart feel safer during the day. Residents felt safe both in their home, during the day and at night. During the day, residents felt just as safe in town centres, public areas and local shops as they did in their own homes. At night, the picture changes, particularly for car parks and open spaces. It is thought that the increased political awareness of victim’s issues over recent years has in turn increased an awareness of crime prevention and fear (Walklate, 2001).

The Residents’ Survey went on to ask respondents how safe they felt their neighbourhood was. As figure 4 illustrates, the highest proportion of people believed their neighbourhood was either safe or safe with some nuisance, which links in with a high number of respondents reporting that they had experienced anti-social behaviour. It is encouraging that over half of respondents believed their neighbourhood was either safe or very safe.

75% of respondents to the 2004 Crime Audit said CCTV improved their feelings of safety and 75% of respondents said they would support the extension and development of the CCTV system.

• Action for Elderly Abuse 0208 7657000
• Age Concern 020 8765 7200
• Careline 01256 338892
• ‘Safer Hart’ Community Safety Partnership 01252 774476
• Hart Voluntary Action 01252 815652
• Neighbourhood Watch www.ukwatch.org.uk/fleethants.html
• No Panic (Advice on phobias and anxiety) 01952 590545
• Samaritans 0845 7909090