Bracknell Forest crime and disorder reduction partnership (CDRP) plan for 2008-2011

6.04.58pm BST (GMT +0100) Thu 26th Jun 2008

I attended the public launch of the new Bracknell Forest Crime & Disorder Reduction Partnership Plan for 2008-2011 last week but regrettably was unable to stay for questions about the Plan at the end of the presentatation.

The new Plan identifies six main areas of work aimed at maintaining the excellent progress that has been made in reducing crime in this area in the past twelve months and on improving links with the community at large. However, while the Plan endeavours to address issues raised by the community and provide residents with a voice on community safety issues it fails to offer much hope that the actions to be taken will prove more successful than the present arrangements. Building on existing neighbourhood action forums and groups may lead to some improvement but contact with the police generally remains difficult and communication with individual community beat officers needs to be improved.

Hopefully the Plan will make further progress in reducing crime and it is re-assuring to note that the incidence of recorded crime in Bracknell Forest is now much lower than it is elsewhere in Berkshire, especially Windsor and Maidenhead. It is also extremely refreshing to note that at long last senior police officers, including the Chief Constable of Thames Valley Police, are beginning to speak out against the imposition of misleading Home Office crime targets which have done so much to damage relations with the public in recent years.

Ray Earwicker

Lib-Dem Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Bracknell