Bracknell

Driving down the fear of crime and reassuring residents that the borough is a safe place to live was the main focus of the Bracknell Forest's Crime and Disorder Team's annual conference last month.

Representatives from Bracknell Forest Borough Council, Thames Valley Police, Berkshire East PCT and Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service met at the conference to look at ways of addressing residents' perception of crime in the borough and ensuring that people living, working or visiting the borough know Bracknell Forest is a comparatively crime-free area.

Residents believe there is a relatively high-crime rate in the borough according to a survey commissioned by the Council last year, but the reality is Bracknell Forest's crime level is actually quite low and significantly lower than residents think.

Fear and Safety was one of the main Bracknell topics discussed when Professor Kevin Stenson and Dr Nadia Wager, who compiled the report, spoke at the conference. Other areas focussed on included anti-social behaviour in Bracknell Forest- a debate chaired by Ian Boswell, Community Safety Manager at the Council; alcohol misuse and the impact on health, which Don Sinclair, Director of Public Health at Berkshire East PCT spoke about; and crime reduction which John Oblein, Crime Reduction Advisor for Thames Valley Police led on.

The Bracknell Council's impending alcohol strategy, which will be adopted later this year, was also one of the main focuses of the day - with Glyn Jones, Assistant Director of Community Care, presenting the aims and objectives of the strategy.

Recent statistics show that crime in Bracknell Forest has dropped by more than six per cent in the past few years but residents still remain fearful of being attacked, both physically and verbally or having their car or home broken in to.

The Crime and Disorder Reduction Team in Bracknell Forest is now working to ensure that this disproportionate fear of crime is phased out and residents realise the reality of being a victim of crime is very low in the borough - the conference gave all the agencies in the team the chance to think of ideas on how to create a safer feeling in Bracknell Forest and share ideas on how to progress.

Ian Boswell, Community Safety Manager, said: " Bracknell Forest is a safe place to live, work and visit but many residents don't feel as safe as they should. We don't have a big crime rate and so this fear really is disproportionate.

"The Council is working with the police, fire service, probation service, health service and other voluntary organisations to redress this fear-factor. The conference is just one of the ways we are working together to gather ideas on how we get the message out there that the borough is a very safe place to live."

Cllr Iain McCracken, Executive Member for Bracknell Leisure, Corporate Services and Public Protection, added: "A heightened fear of crime can have a real impact on people's lives. We are committed to working with our partner organisations to address and hopefully allay some of the perceptions and concerns that residents have about crime in the borough.

"We will, of course, address any real crime issues but residents should be assured that Bracknell Forest does not have a high crime rate and is a safe place to live."

Bracknell Forest Borough Council