This months Police Tasking meeting (17th March) saw an update on the local crime figures from our new Neighbourhood Police Sergeant, Trevor Orton. Year to date crime in Acocks Green is down just over 5% and the latest month shows that improving further with a month on month fall of 16%. The burglary figures are particularly good with only vehicle crime bucking the trend and rising, with a particular issue around number plate theft (to disguise cars, for crimes such as bilking – filling up with petrol and then driving off without paying).

The police are experimenting with a new tactic under Operation Savvy. This involves concentrating numerous short patrols in local crime hotspots. This is a tactic which has worked elsewhere and has been developed in conjunction with Cambridge University who have studied different crime fighting tactics. It will be interesting to see if it helps reduce crime further in our patch.