Nearly four hundred fewer people in Wilmslow and Alderley Edge have been victims of crime in the past 12 months than in the previous year. This represents a drop of 15% and means that just 6 crimes a day have been recorded across the whole of the Wilmslow Neighbourhood Policing Unit (NPU).
Police Officers say the trend continues across East Cheshire where three thousand fewer people have been victims of crime in the past year. A year-on-year reduction has seen crime in Cheshire Police Eastern Area cut by nearly thirty per cent since Cheshire Police was re-organized on neighbourhood policing lines in 2005.
Here are some more interesting stats for the current financial year (01/04/2009 to 15/03/2010). These are the figures recorded across the whole of the Wilmslow NPU, which covers Alderley Edge, Handforth, Styal and Wilmslow.
- 76 less victims of serious acquisitive crime
- 90% less business robberies
- 80 less victims of violent crime
- 25% fewer serious sexual crimes
- 60 less victims of vehicle crime
- 20% or 400 fewer reports of anti-social behaviour.
- Burglary offences are stable at last years levels where the rest of the region are looking at an increase.
Inspector Welsted said "The statistics speak for themselves and should reinforce the fact that Wilmslow and Alderley Edge are very safe places to live and work. We still have our problems to solve and that is exactly what my officers are doing.
"Next year is going to be a real challenge to continue such excellent performance particularly in the current financial climate. However, by identifying problems early; working effectively with the public and our partners and by maximising the visibility of my officers, I am confidence these successes will continue".
The number of crimes recorded since April 1st 2009 across East Cheshire is expected to be marginally over 20,000 by March 31st. The corresponding figure last year was 23,256.
Detective Chief Inspector Darren Hebden, Cheshire Police Eastern Area Crime Manager, said, "The continuing reduction shows the strength of our approach to policing. Investigation teams focus on areas where patterns of crime emerge and target the criminals we know are responsible for a high percentage of offences such as burglary, theft and vehicle crime.
“The introduction of neighbourhood policing brought much closer links between Police Officers and Police Community Support Officers and the public they serve. That has resulted in a much better flow of information for us to act on."
You can follow many aspects of policing in Cheshire, including the month by month crime trends in the area around your home, on the Cheshire Police website.
