Conference On Crime

Ashmore Park and Coppice Farm Estate together provide homes for a population of 7870 that translates into 3,400 homes.They are policed by Wednesfield Police Station, and managed from that location.

New figures now show that this police beat is still suffering from increased crime and sadly that statistic stands at a massive +26% increase at a time when the West Midlands Force as a whole has falling crime statistics of -9%.

Statistics that I received on April 16 suggest that crimes from March 07 April 08 now total 486; that is a rise of 100 incidents across Ashmore Park and Coppice Farm during that last 12 month period. The crime statistics show that criminal damage continues to gather impetus, and it is by far the largest single crime being committed in this part of our community.

The increase is now another chunky +4.11% over the course of the year, despite all the attempts by the police to target and deal with issues that have made our community very unsettled through out the winter.

My view is that we need more help to defeat crime on these two estates. I can see the police are working hard to target and deal with the upsurge in criminal damage. But the statistics suggest that they are not winning the battle by themselves. Do we require even more resources? Even with the concern I have with the rocketing crime statistics it is still worth reflecting that this unacceptable increase still only takes us to just over 1 crime per day in our neighbourhood. I am not being complacent here, but it is not a Beirut, Baghdad or other hot bed crime. So perspective is required!

But it is nevertheless worrying that this neighbourhood is not following the trend of the West Midlands Force overall.

Today I have written to the Chief Superintendent of Wednesfield Police and the Chief Executive of Wolverhampton City Council requesting that after the elections have taken place in May. A conference on crime be held on the estate, with representatives from the Police, Local Authority, Fire Service,Schools, Youth Clubs, Pensioners Groups, and other voluntary bodies, all taking part. In this way we may together debate the cause, and the solutions to reducing all crimes taking place in our neighbourhood.

The proposal would be to thrash out a way forward that would help to curtail the continued increase in criminal damage which it seems is the single biggest issue on this neighbourhood police beat.

I think we recognise that in other areas of crime the police and the community together seem to have been having more success in tackling crime, Burglary in dwellings has reduced marginally.


March07-April-08

All crime incidents are at 486
Burglary dwelling -20
Criminal damage -152
Wounding 83
Robbery-16
Theft of Motor Vehicle-14
Theft from Motor Vehicle -34
Theft from Person-2
Cycle Theft-13