Police must not rest on laurels

CHESHIRE’S Police and Crime Commissioner has told police that although crime fell by five per cent in the county last year, they must not “rest on their laurels.”
Commenting on the latest crime figures for the county, PCC John Dwyer (pictured) said the reduction in the crime level meant there were 3,250 fewer victims of crime in Cheshire.
He said: “Crime is now at its lowest level in Cheshire since 1990 but I don’t want us to rest on our laurels.
“An important part of my role is to hold the Chief Constable to account on behalf of the people of Cheshire and I developed my Police and Crime Plan to do just that. In the plan I said that I would work towards further driving down crime to make Cheshire an even safer place to live so there is still work to be done.
“I was a little disappointed to see that the number of crimes solved in the last year had fallen by two per cent to 28 per cent and I have been in discussions with the Chief Constable to make sure that this improves. People have told me that they want to see justice done when there is a crime committed against them.
“I do understand that some crimes are difficult to solve as often there is no way to trace the offender but I have asked for additional focus in this area of police business.
“I was pleased to see however, that the police have been working hard to address other areas which I gave priority to in my plan. The proportion of anti-social behaviour incidents from a repeat caller or location have fallen showing that the police are doing more to solve long term community issues. This is reinforced by the percentage of the public who believe that the police are dealing with things that matter in the area has increased.”