Crime continues to fall in Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland

Leicestershire’s Police and Crime Commissioner welcomed the news that crime continues to fall in Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland.

Figures presented to the Commissioner, Sir Clive Loader, show that the Force’s performance is largely on target, with just one area of crime reduction (domestic burglary) currently not being achieved, although this is expected to get closer to target by the end of the year. Despite this, domestic burglary victims report the highest rate of satisfaction with police, whilst criminal damage and antisocial behaviour incidents have continued to reduce across the Force area. 

The Force is on track for a projected underspend of £3 million which has been achieved through a series of savings measures. Contributing to the savings are lower than projected utility and phone bills and the Force’s on-going Change Programme.

More than £23m has already been saved through the Change Programme. The goal is now to save a further £20m by 2016. Projects being taken forward include looking at current and future demand, examining existing and potential policing models and other schemes to improve efficiency and effectiveness. 

The police budget agreed by Sir Clive for 2013-14 will allow police officer and PCSO numbers to be maintained over the next two years and PCSO recruitment is due to take place in April to replace leavers, many of who have gone on to become student police officers. Officer and staff attendance rates have dropped, although staff sickness rates are still on target.

A dedicated survey was undertaken by Leicestershire Police of 600 businesses across the Force area. The survey found that almost 90% of respondents felt that they would be treated with respect should they contact the police, and almost 85% thought they would be treated fairly. Sixty one percent agreed that police and local councils are dealing with anti-social behaviour and almost 82% had confidence in police in their local area. 

At the Executive Board meeting, Sir Clive also heard a presentation on anti-social behaviour (ASB) - a key concern of Leicestershire communities - which showed that the number of incidents is down, and that satisfaction rates are up. He was encouraged to hear about partnership working around anti-social behaviour, particularly the use of a bespoke shared ASB case management system, which has been jointly developed with local and district authorities and has now been active for over 12 months within Leicestershire Police and all local authority partners.

Commenting on the information, Sir Clive said: “We are facing a great financial challenge over the coming years, and it is encouraging to see that the Force is managing to keep a firm grip on crime, whilst going through an extensive cost-cutting programme. Public satisfaction in local policing is also high, but we must not become complacent. We are being asked to do more, with less, and that won’t be easy. I am confident that the officers and staff of Leicestershire Police can and will use their expertise and professional skills to drive down crime and keep our communities safer.”