Seven in ten residents living in Belper believe Derbyshire Police and the local authority are tackling antisocial behaviour in the area, new figures reveal.
Derbyshire’s Deputy Police and Crime Commissioner Hardyal Dhindsa joined police representatives to carry out a survey in the area on August 14 to find out local opinion about crime issues. The results showed 73.9% of the respondents who expressed an opinion believed that Police and the local council are dealing with antisocial behaviour.
The questionnaire, which was completed by 122 members of the public as part of the Over to You consultation, found ‘drug taking’ to be the biggest concern among local residents at 42%. This was followed by ‘street drinking’ at 38% and ‘underage drinking’ and ‘burglary’, both chosen by 33% of residents.
Meanwhile, 21.6% of respondents who expressed an opinion thought that crime had decreased in the past 12 months while 60.8% thought that it had stayed the same and 17.8% thought that it had increased. In reality, crime in the Amber Valley area which covers Belper, Alfreton and Ripley and the surrounding rural areas has increased slightly by 1.4% between April 2013 and March 2014. This figure decreased to 2% between April and August.
Responding to the data, Derbyshire Police and Crime Commissioner Alan Charles said: “It’s very pleasing to see that the majority of those we interviewed are satisfied with the way we’re responding to antisocial behaviour in the Belper area. While these results are very encouraging tackling local crime and disorder is a priority of mine and I’m determined to continue working with partners to address these important issues.
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Posted on Tuesday 16th September 2014