Bedford Borough Community Safety Partnership. Strategic Assessment Safer Communities

Transcription

1 Bedford Borough Community Safety Partnership Strategic Assessment Safer Communities The aim of the North Bedfordshire Community Safety Partnership Tackling crime, disorder, anti-social behaviour, drug and alcohol misuse and increasing perceptions about safety and well-being in our communities

2 Page 1 Bedford Borough Community Safety Partnership Strategic Assessment CONTENTS SECTION 1 INTRODUCTION Introduction The team Methodology... 5 SECTION 2 SCANNING... Error! Bookmark not defined. 2.1 Contextual Information... Error! Bookmark not defined About Bedford... Error! Bookmark not defined Bedford Borough Wards... Error! Bookmark not defined Local Area Agreement and Sustainable Communities Plan Error! Bookmark not defined Community Safety Plan objectives... Error! Bookmark not defined. 2.2 Perceptions of crime... Error! Bookmark not defined Neighbourhood Policing Community Priorities... Error! Bookmark not defined Consultation Results from Bedford Partnership Assembly... Error! Bookmark not defined Priorities from young and older people... Error! Bookmark not defined The view from the street... Error! Bookmark not defined British Crime Survey Error! Bookmark not defined. 2.3 Anti-Social Behaviour... Error! Bookmark not defined. 2.4 Crime... Error! Bookmark not defined Environment issues... Error! Bookmark not defined Youth Offending Service... Error! Bookmark not defined PSA Priorities... Error! Bookmark not defined Bedford Police... Error! Bookmark not defined Offences against the Person... Error! Bookmark not defined Locations and Times... Error! Bookmark not defined Victims of crime... Error! Bookmark not defined Offences against the dwelling... Error! Bookmark not defined Offences against the vehicle... Error! Bookmark not defined Offences against the business... Error! Bookmark not defined Other aspects of Crime and Disorder... Error! Bookmark not defined NHS Bedfordshire... Error! Bookmark not defined A healthy Borough... Error! Bookmark not defined An overview of the health of the residents... Error! Bookmark not defined Alcohol misuse... Error! Bookmark not defined.

3 Page 2 Bedford Borough Community Safety Partnership Strategic Assessment Alcohol impact on Domestic Violence... Error! Bookmark not defined Drink Driving... Error! Bookmark not defined Homelessness and Street Drinking... Error! Bookmark not defined Alcohol related Fires... Error! Bookmark not defined Substance Abuse... Error! Bookmark not defined Needs Assessment... Error! Bookmark not defined Sexual Health... Error! Bookmark not defined Mental Health... Error! Bookmark not defined Supporting families and Children... Error! Bookmark not defined A Safe and Strong Community... Error! Bookmark not defined Fire and Rescue Service... Error! Bookmark not defined Risk Reduction by Tackling the Common Causes of Fire... Error! Bookmark not defined Partnership Working... Error! Bookmark not defined Making Homes and Roads Safer... Error! Bookmark not defined Arson Reduction... Error! Bookmark not defined Improve Road Safety... Error! Bookmark not defined Helping Young People and improve their life chances... Error! Bookmark not defined Bedfordshire Drug and Alcohol Action Team (BDAT) Error! Bookmark not defined Equity of drug treatment... Error! Bookmark not defined Contribution to reducing crime in Bedfordshire... Error! Bookmark not defined Improving health and personal outcomes for individuals in Bedfordshire... Error! Bookmark not defined Local Government re-organisation... Error! Bookmark not defined Bedfordshire Probation Service... Error! Bookmark not defined Bedfordshire Probation Area 4 Year Business Plan Error! Bookmark not defined. SECTION 3 PRIORITIES Golden Threads Priority area selection Violent Crime Serious Acquisitive Crime Building Stronger Communities Anti-Social Behaviour and Criminal Damage SECTION 4 CURRENT ACTIVITY AND PROVISION Partnership activity profile... 82

4 Page 3 Bedford Borough Community Safety Partnership Strategic Assessment Current Activity Safer and self-sufficient Communities (SascO) Resources Partnership Action Plans Drug Treatment; Drug Interventions Programme Partnership Plans Serious Acquisitive Crime (including a specific plan for robbery) Domestic Violence Domestic Violence development priorities Alcohol Anti-social behaviour PREVENT (Community Cohesion) Serious Youth Violence Partnership Plan SECTION 5 CONCLUSION Partnership Development priorities Partnership Progress since November Partnership Development Priorities for National Developments Hate Crime and Equalities Partnership Plan 2010 To Community Safety Target Summary SECTION 6 GLOSSARY OF TERMS SECTION 7 APPENDIX SECTION 8 APPENDIX SECTION 9 APPENDIX SECTION 10 APPENDIX SECTION 11 APPENDIX SECTION 12 APPENDIX SECTION 13 GOOD PRACTICE CASE STUDIES

5 Page 4 Bedford Borough Community Safety Partnership Strategic Assessment SECTION 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 INTRODUCTION This annual Strategic Assessment is prepared on behalf of the Bedford Borough Safer Thematic Partnership Group to inform strategic planning and commissioning processes for the Community Safety Partnership. Full statutory requirements can be found in Section 17; Crime and Disorder Act (Formulation and Implementation of Strategy) Regulations (2007) 1. The document aims to assist the Bedford Community Safety Partnership to identify which crime and disorder priorities to focus on in the coming year (2010 / 2011) being the last year of the triannual community safety strategy This assessment includes the following: Analysis of the level and patterns of crime and anti-social behaviour (ASB) in context with key partner priorities and links with substance misuse; Changes in the levels and patterns of crime, disorder and substance misuse since the last strategic assessment; Analysis of why these changes have occurred; Assessment of the extent to which last year's Partnership Development plan was implemented and new priorities for ; Assessment of views from the community on matters that need to be prioritised; Future National and Borough developments that may have an impact on community safety. Findings from the Strategic Assessment support the Sustainable Communities Strategy goal to achieve a Safer Borough and the 7 aims as follows; Aim 1 Aim 2 Aim 3 Aim 4 Reduce burglary, robbery and other serious acquisitive crime and criminal damage; Tackle the issues which increase the likelihood of re-offending and target prolific offenders; Tackle anti-social behaviour; Reduce incidents of domestic violence; 1

6 Page 5 Bedford Borough Community Safety Partnership Strategic Assessment Aim 5 Aim 6 Aim 7 Tackle crime and disorder by reducing drug dependency and alcohol misuse; Tackle the fear of crime; Increase public confidence in the Partnership s delivery of community safety; 1.2 THE TEAM A core-group of individuals from across the partnership have contributed to the development and delivery of this document, they include; Sally Flint Phillipa Scott Laurence Abbott Suzanne Payne Philip Green D.I. Nick Bellingham Lisa Rose Cllr Colleen Atkins Tony Rogers Barbara Wonford Communities Manager, Bedford Borough Council Community Safety Manager, Bedford Borough Council Research and Information Officer, Bedford Borough Council Data and Intelligence Officer, Bedford Borough Council Senior Performance Officer, Bedford Borough Council Divisional Intelligence Unit, Bedfordshire Police Senior Intelligence Analyst (Bedford), Bedfordshire Police Bedfordshire and Luton Fire and Rescue Service Authority Area Commander, Bedfordshire and Luton Fire and Rescue Service Public Health Co-ordinator, NHS 1.3 METHODOLOGY Analysed information was used from the most recent 2009 audits and strategic plans belonging to the Responsible Authorities within the Community Safety Partnership. These were principally Bedford police, Police Authority, Bedford Borough Council, Bedfordshire and Luton Fire and Rescue Service, Criminal Justice Board, NHS Bedfordshire, Probation, Bedfordshire Drug Action Team (BDAT), and the Bedfordshire Domestic Violence Partnership. A scan of all documents across the Responsible Authorities was conducted by the Strategic Assessment and Information Sharing Group between September and October In addition consultation documents were collated from the Place Survey, British Crime Survey, Police Safer Neighbourhood Forums (5-aday process), Borough Integrated Youth Services consultation with young people and ward profiles. A list of information sources can be found at Appendix 1.

7 Page 6 Bedford Borough Community Safety Partnership Strategic Assessment In November 2009 further information from extended partners was gathered in terms of performance, concerns, current and potential future activities. Information was also requested to fit into a ward profile. The Assessment provides a range of partner strategic and performance summaries with key findings and comment for future action. This information was used to judge the emerging crime and ASB types against a range of criteria: The scale of the problem Comparing ourselves with our most similar family groups Impact on the victim Trend in respect of getting worse or better A community concern Type of Indicator level (LAA, NI, Local etc.) The Strategic Assessment carried out this year has been an overview exercise as it intended to inform a refresh of the Strategy The Strategic Assessment delivered in January 2009 recommended that priorities from be continued as there was no major change apparent. In the main, the assessment has been carried out using existing information and supplemented with information received from partners at a Partnership Development day 2, information shared through the Strategic Assessment and Information Sharing Group (SA&IS) and telephone interviews. Each area of crime and ASB was prioritised a risk assessment matrix 3 using the criteria outlined above, this matrix is included in Section 3: Priorities. In addition, the information supplied by partners has introduced some concepts of commonality which could be called the Golden Threads that most partners have identified as areas to concentrate on in order to meet both their organisational objectives and those of the Bedford Community Safety Partnership. Further analysis and explanation of the Golden Threads can be found in Section 3: Priorities. 2 Held on 1 st October

8 Page 7 Bedford Borough Community Safety Partnership Strategic Assessment SECTION 2 SCANNING 2.1 CONTEXTUAL INFORMATION About Bedford Located in the East of England, Bedford Borough covers the town of Bedford, the urban area of Kempston and 43 rural parishes in the north of Bedfordshire. Bedford is the 2 nd oldest town in Bedfordshire and was granted Charter Status in It has a Unitary Borough Government with the Governing body of Bedford Borough Council and an elected Mayor. Bedford Borough has an estimated population of 155,700 (2008 ONS Mid Year Estimate) with 65,000 households and an area of 47,640 hectares. The majority of the population (64%) resides in the Bedford- Kempston conurbation. Bedford Borough is at the heart of the Milton Keynes and South Midlands growth area and has been identified for significant housing growth. As a result of the housing growth, the Borough s population is forecast to increase to 172,500 by 2021 and to 182,900 by Over 16,000 new homes are planned to be built in Bedford, Kempston and Marston Vale over the 20 year period to This will include major new developments such as the Wixams near Elstow, and the redevelopment of Bedford town centre. The massive housing growth in Bedfordshire is coupled with huge investment in the transport infrastructure. The main improvement to the transport network within the Bedford Borough area is the completion of the Western Bypass. The construction 4 of the first phase of the bypass is progressing well however, there remains no funding allocated to the final section (the A428 A6 link). The current economic situation has meant growth and investment has been cut back. With plans on hold for development in the area so is the funding of this development. No new homes means no new development and cars will be forced back into Bedford. Crime levels in the Borough have been falling over the last five years. Total crime was just under 12,000 in 2008/09, down from just over 16,000 in 2003/04. While Bedford Borough is generally affluent, in 2007, three wards (Castle, Cauldwell and Harpur) within the Borough included Lower Super Output Areas (LSOAs) 5 among the top 10 percent most deprived in England. A further six LSOAs in Castle, Cauldwell, Goldington, Kingsbrook (2) and Kempston North wards were among the top 20 percent most deprived. There are also small pockets of rural deprivation and many rural residents suffer from problems in accessing basic services. 4 Bedford News July 2009 edition 5

9 Page 8 Bedford Borough Community Safety Partnership Strategic Assessment The Borough has also been negatively impacted by the recession with the claimant count unemployment rate rising from 2.1% of the working age population in April 2008 to 4.2% in October 2009, with the rate in Bedford/Kempston exceeding 5%. On a broader measure of worklessness, almost 12% of the working age population in the Borough claims out-of-work benefits and the rate is between 15% and 20% in Castle, Cauldwell, Goldington, Harpur, Kingsbrook and Queens Park wards. Bedford Borough has a diverse ethnic population with 19.2% of the overall population in 2001 being non-white British, rising to 23.9% among those aged The largest Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) groups were Other White (4.8%), Indian (4.3%) and Black Caribbean (1.9%). The BME population is heavily concentrated in the Bedford/Kempston urban area where 25.1% of the population is from BME groups compared to 6.9% in the rural area. The BME proportion in Bedford/Kempston is also higher among the 0-19 age group (31%) than the population as a whole. Within Bedford/Kempston, several wards have extremely high BME populations, with Queens Park (57.8%) being one of the most ethnically diverse wards in England. Cauldwell (43.8%) also has a significant BME population. ONS estimates indicate the BME population has risen to 21.6% between 2001 and In part, this increase is due to a large in-migration from the new EU Accession countries. There were an estimated 5,900 new National Insurance Registrations by non-uk nationals between May 2004 and March 2009; many of these were from the EU Accession countries, particularly Poland and Lithuania. The number of new registrations has declined in the last 2 years and some may have returned to their countries of origin as a result of declining employment opportunities. Nevertheless, there has been a significant rise in the Other White population since 2001.

10 Page 9 Bedford Borough Community Safety Partnership Strategic Assessment Bedford Borough Wards

11 Page 10 Bedford Borough Community Safety Partnership Strategic Assessment Local Area Agreement and Sustainable Communities Plan Creating a safer borough where people live safer lives is 1 of 7 priority areas to be addressed by partnership working within the most recent Bedford Borough Sustainable Communities Plan. Crime levels in the Borough have been falling over the last five years. Total crime in the Borough was just under 12,000 in 2008/9, down from just over 16,000 in 2003/4. Serious acquisitive crime fell by 18% in 2008/9. However, we know that domestic burglary has increased by 29% across the Borough from April to June in 2008 to April to June We know that the level of crime is a big issue for the Borough s residents crime levels ranked as their most important quality of life factor in surveys in 2006 and again in We know that anti-social behaviour, in particular, can have a significant impact on people s fear of crime and their perception of their personal safety. Elsewhere in the Strategy we set out the importance of creating a Borough where people feel part of a wider community and in which they are fully able to participate in civic, cultural and sporting life (see chapter 6 An Inclusive Borough). The extent to which this will be achieved, and the extent to which people are able to maintain a healthy and active independence (see chapter 4 A Healthy Borough) will depend, in part, on their sense of personal safety. Drug dependency and, in particular, alcohol abuse are factors which contribute to crime and anti-social behaviour. Nearly three-quarters of those convicted of disorder offences were identified as hazardous drinkers and over half identified alcohol as a factor in their arrest. There is a perception that many incidents of anti-social behaviour are committed by young people and as identify in chapter 3 An Aspiring Borough of the Bedford Borough Partnerships Sustainable Community Strategy , the provision of sports and arts activities can help reduce youth crime and reduce the likelihood that young people will get drawn into such activity. We know that domestic violence accounts for 25% of all violent crime. Domestic violence will affect one in four women and one in six men in their lifetime. On average, a person will be assaulted 35 times before reporting it to the police Community Safety Plan objectives The strategic assessment carried out in outlined the need for no change of priorities held within the current community safety strategy document and thus all areas have been reviewed within this Strategic Assessment for as follows:

12 Page 11 Bedford Borough Community Safety Partnership Strategic Assessment Reducing violent crime including: Wounding Robbery Domestic Abuse Delivering the Government s Prevent agenda Reducing property crime including Domestic burglary Theft from motor vehicles Criminal damage to property and vehicles Reducing environmental crime including: Anti-social use of vehicles including nuisance and speeding Rubbish, litter and fly-tipping Reducing anti-social behaviour including: Rowdy, nuisance and drunken behaviour Reducing the number of disengaged young people including: Provision of sustainable positive activities for children and young people Support for parents enabling them to fulfil parental responsibilities 2.2 PERCEPTIONS OF CRIME The Place Survey (2008) is the direct replacement to the Best Value Performance Indicators (BVPI) User Satisfaction Survey, which was last conducted in The survey is to be undertaken biannually starting in It informs 18 National Indicators. The Survey is conducted via postal questionnaires, and was sent to 6,000 households within the Borough. The recipient households were selected at random by The Audit Commission. The data is weighted by the Audit Commission in terms of gender, age, ethnic group and household occupation rate. The questions covered various areas around local services, and perception of local area. One section was devoted to community safety. Nearly half of respondents (48.4%) said that they felt safe when outside in their local area after dark. This is slightly below the national average of 50.9%. 88.9% of respondents said they felt safe during the day. This is slightly above the national average of 87.9%.

13 Page 12 Bedford Borough Community Safety Partnership Strategic Assessment Issue Bedford Borough England Noisy neighbours or loud parties Teenagers hanging around the streets Rubbish or litter lying around Vandalism, graffiti and other deliberate damage to property or vehicles People using or dealing drugs People being drunk or rowdy in public places Abandoned or burnt out cars Table 1: Respondents who identified issues as a very big or fairly big problem (Place Survey 2008) This shows that in line with national trends, teenagers hanging around the streets are perceived as the greatest problem. Rubbish or litter, and vandalism and graffiti are perceived as the second and third biggest problems. 25% of people agreed that police and other local public services seek people s views around priority issues. This is very similar to the national figure of 24.8%. 25.7% agreed that the Police and other public services are successfully dealing with these issues. This is slightly below the national figure of 26.3% Neighbourhood Policing Community Priorities Neighbourhood Police Officers are required to ask 5 people a day in their community about what their local concerns are. This information is fed into the local Safer Neighbourhood Community Safety Forums where residents are asked to prioritise three areas for interventions over the succeeding 3 month period. Priorities from November 2009 are identified below and provide an indication of the overall Borough concerns. Results for young people hanging around, along with drug and alcohol misuse are similar to the level of concern found in the Place Survey. Additional community concern around vehicle parking and speeding is also evident.

14 Page 13 Bedford Borough Community Safety Partnership Strategic Assessment Neighbourhood Policing community priorities - November 2009 Littering Other burglary Neighbour disputes Criminal damage cycling on Footpath Issues raised ASB general Drug misuse Alcohol Misuse Burglary dwelling Parking Speeding Nuisance Youths Number of SNT areas rasing the issue Consultation Results from Bedford Partnership Assembly Delegates attending the Safer mini conference 6 included a wide range of partnership stakeholders, who were asked to identify what they thought most important from the following issues: The results show that people raised teenagers hanging around as the top issue, followed by drug and alcohol misuse, violence related incidents and the fear of crime. Subject / Crime Area Anti-social, rowdy, nuisance behaviour teenagers hanging around in streets Responses 24 Drug misuse connected to crime / Trafficking & Possession 23 Domestic Violence 22 Burglary Dwelling 21 Fear of Crime 18 Violent knife crime and other weapons usage 17 Robbery 16 Litter rubbish and fly tipping 14 6 Partnership consultation held on 27 th November 2009

15 Page 14 Bedford Borough Community Safety Partnership Strategic Assessment Subject / Crime Area Responses Alcohol misuse connected to crime / ASB 12 Speeding and other anti-social use of vehicles 10 Violent crime including assaults and most serious violent crime 10 Theft from person, shoplifting 9 Criminal damage and graffiti 9 Sexual violence 7 Vehicle crime (theft from and of vehicles) 6 Hate Crime 4 Non domestic burglary 3 Abandon motor vehicles removed 3 Deliberate fire setting and arson 3 Table 2: Bedford Partnership Assembly respondents identifying an issue as the most important Priorities from young and older people Bedford Borough Council has conducted a number of consultations with children and young people in the Borough during the assessment period, the key findings are; Safety on public transport is an issue for young people in the Borough, particularly relating to waiting for buses in villages due to lack of lighting, safety on school buses and using buses departing from Bedford when it is dark; the fear of crime in Bedford / rural area; In their local there are not enough organised activities available; Lack of appropriate street lighting; The safety of their belongings whilst at school; Bullying; Concern about being a victim of violence, theft or assault. The Corporate Strategy for Older People provides priority areas for action following consultation in The strategy included the following areas that older people considered to be important in maintaining a quality of life:

16 Page 15 Bedford Borough Community Safety Partnership Strategic Assessment Feeling safe and secure in their homes and community; Being as healthy and active; Having choice and control over their life and the care they receive; Being able to access education, leisure and social activities; Being consulted and listened to; Having the right information and advice. The Place Survey (segmented results for over 65 year olds) provided information about perceptions of community safety for people 65 years and older. Results are summarised below: The following tables show the Community Safety Questions from the 2008/09 Place Survey separated by age. The split is based around those under 65, and those 65 and over. All results are given without any weighting applied, and will differ from the weighted results published by the Department of Communities and Local Government. 65 and Over Under 65 Overall Felt safe when alone outside in local area after dark Felt safe when outside in local area during the day 46% 52% 50% 89% 88% 89% This shows that 6% less of those 65 and over feel safe walking alone after dark than those under 65. There is no significant difference for during the day. The table below shows the percentage of respondents who felt that each of the following issues are either a very big problem or a fairly big problem. 65 and Over Under 65 Overall Noisy neighbours or loud parties 8% 15% 13% Teenagers hanging around the streets 27% 40% 36% Rubbish or litter lying around 26% 32% 30% Vandalism, graffiti and other deliberate damage to property or vehicles 24% 29% 28% People using or dealing drugs 21% 30% 28%

17 Page 16 Bedford Borough Community Safety Partnership Strategic Assessment People being drunk or rowdy in public places 14% 25% 22% Abandoned or burnt out cars 5% 6% 7% This shows that people 65 and over are significantly less concerned about all the issues, than the under 65 s (apart from abandoned or burn out cars, where there is no significant difference). The issue of teenagers hanging around streets is the most problematic to both groups, and abandoned or burnt out cars is the least problematic for both groups. 65 and Over Under 65 Overall Agree that police and other local public services seek peoples views about these issues in their local area Agree that the police and other local public services are successfully dealing with these issues in your local area 42% 28% 32% 42% 30% 33% This shows a large difference between the two groups. 14% more of those 65 and over agreeing that the police and public services seek people s views about these issues in their area. Furthermore, an additional 12% agreeing that the Police and Council are successful in dealing with the issues in the respondents local area The view from the street With the help of the Youth Offending Team and the Xers Project, qualitative interviews were conducted with 14 young people on street culture and experiences of personal robbery. 10 respondents were male and 4 female, all respondents were aged years. All respondents were resident in Bedford or Kempston. None were strangers to the Youth Justice System. 8 admitted committing an offence of personal robbery and 6 stated that they had been victims of the same offence. The interviews were conducted under the guarantee of complete anonymity. The results are summarised below with appropriate illustrative quotations. The outcomes of the interviews correlate with and confirmed the observations of professionals. All respondents mentioned the presence of groups linked to particular areas of the town. A few respondents thought there was a serious gang problem in the town but others were less convinced of the scale of the problem and talked about hanging around in groups, feeling comfortable in their own areas and threatened if they go elsewhere. The gang phenomenon

18 Page 17 Bedford Borough Community Safety Partnership Strategic Assessment had escalated in the last 4 to 5 years according to one young woman. One male considered that the groups started in schools and were linked to school rivalries Several groups or gangs were identified. There were variations on these names. The original use of post-codes has been abandoned: The London Road Crew (also known as Dog Soldiers) Black Putnoe Banglatown (Queens Park) White Putnoe Red Bandana Gang Green Bandana Gang Black Bandana Gang Nevertheless, a couple of respondents commented that there could be interchange between groups such as Kempston and Putnoe. The Queens Park group is racially identified and perhaps the most feared: There was much talk of gangs and whilst it is possible to conclude that these are rather loose networks rather than firmly formed gangs, there are features that suggest that they could evolve into more worrying formations, The types of property stolen are desirable items such as mobile phones and MP3 players. In a lot of cases it will be small amounts of cash or cigarettes. The commission of the offence may be more important than the value of the property obtained. There is also little understanding of the gravity of the offence of robbery. For many, it tends to be equated with minor theft. Professor Marlow s report concludes with the following recommendations; A continuing requirement for shared detailed analysis, information and intelligence exchange, A review, by the police, of evidence gathering, investigation and enforcement practice A campaign to stress the gravity of the offence of robbery and the possible consequences of conviction, Linkage to the schools both to gather information on possible gang activity and preventative programmes that might be devised, Some form of involvement with young people in formulating preventative programmes A procedure that will encourage reluctant and fearful victims to report offences discreetly and to safeguard anonymity as far as is possible,

19 Page 18 Bedford Borough Community Safety Partnership Strategic Assessment A crime prevention campaign of safeguarding mobile phones and MP3 players British Crime Survey The British Crime Survey (BCS) results allow local results to be place in the National crime and disorder context. Headline figures from the latest BCS for England and Wales ( ) 7 include: The number of police recorded crimes fell by 5% between and and in Bedford fell by an overall 14% on Comparator Crime. Police recorded 6% fewer violent against the person offences (The same for Bedford), 10% fewer vandalism offences and 10% fewer offences against vehicles, but home burglaries have increased by 1% (Bedford recorded 13% reduction in theft of Motor Vehicles, 17% reduction in Theft of Motor Vehicles, and 17% reduction in Burglary). However Bedford recorded a 36% increase in Sexual Violence from 94 reports to police in to 128 reports in The risk of becoming a victim of crime as measured by the BCS rose from 22% to 23%, but is well below its peak of 40% in 1995 The BCS and police recorded crime differ in their coverage of crime. Overall crime as measured by the BCS shows no change compared with the 2007/08 BCS with no change in most crime types. Crimes recorded by the police show a five per cent decrease compared with 2007/08, with decreases in most crime types. Theft from the person and being a victim of crime is going up. From April 2009 Bedford has noted an increase in recorded crime in specifically around domestic burglary. The risk of becoming a victim of crime has risen from 22% to 23% in the last year, having fallen from 40% in Risk of victimisation varies by personal and household characteristics and by crime type. Overall, 3% of adults had experienced a violent crime in the last year. Men were twice as likely as women to have been victims of violence, with young men aged 16 to 24 having the highest risk (13%). Differences in risk tend to reflect age profiles and lifestyle. 7 Full results available from

20 Page 19 Bedford Borough Community Safety Partnership Strategic Assessment Overall, 2.5% of households had experienced a burglary in the last year. For both burglary and vehicle-related thefts, households who do not have security measures in place were at higher risk of victimisation. For example: Households with less than basic home security measures were considerably more likely to have been victims of burglary (3.4%) than households with basic or enhanced home security measures (1.4% and 0.7% respectively). In just over half of burglaries (54%), properties had window locks compared with nine in ten (87%) households who had not been burgled in the previous 12 months. Levels of repeat victimisation (being a victim of the same crime type more than once in a period of 1 year) vary by offence type. Victims of domestic violence and vandalism are most likely to experience repeat victimisation. Proportion of victims who were victimised more than once in the last year, 2008/09 BCS Theft from Person Other theft of personal property Bicycle theft Burglary Stranger Violence Vehicle related theft Other Household Theft Acquantance Violence Vandalism Domestic Violence Crime Type by % Crime tends to be geographically concentrated. The national picture may not therefore reflect people s experiences in their own local area. This is particularly the case for robberies and kniferelated offences. Fifty-nine per cent of robberies in England and Wales were recorded by just three forces, the Metropolitan Police, Greater Manchester and the West Midlands, that represent 24 per cent of the population. The type of area that people live in can also be a factor. Households in rural areas have a lower risk of being a victim of BCS household crime than households in urban areas (13% compared with 19%); this was true for vandalism, vehiclerelated theft and burglary.

21 Page 20 Bedford Borough Community Safety Partnership Strategic Assessment The risk of being a victim of these household crimes was lower for households in the least deprived areas compared with the most deprived areas in England (16% compared with 22% for BCS household crime). The 2008/09 British Crime Survey asked questions on a variety of aspects of perceptions of crime. Respondents identified the main causes of crime as lack of discipline from parents (30%) and drugs (26%). The proportion of people that perceive an increase in crime nationally is higher than those that perceive an increase in crime locally, and this is evident across crime types. The difference between perceptions of changes in the national and local crime level is particularly marked for knife crime (93% of people perceiving an increase nationally compared with 29% locally) and gun crime (86% nationally compared with 16% locally). Around half of people (51%) think they live in a lower than average crime area, 39 per cent believe crime levels in their area are about average and only 11 per cent of people believe crime in their local area is higher than average. As in previous years, the 2008/09 BCS shows there is a disparity between people s perceived likelihood of being a victim of crime and their actual risk. For instance, 16 per cent of people thought they were fairly or very likely to be a victim of burglary compared with an actual risk of two per cent. Overall, perceptions of anti-social behaviour remained stable compared with 2007/08 with 17 per cent of people perceiving a high level of anti-social behaviour in their area. Across the seven individual indicators there was a fall in the proportion of people perceiving abandoned or burntout cars to be a problem (from 7% to 6%) and an increase (from 26% to 28%) in the proportion perceiving people using or dealing drugs to be a problem in their area. There was no change in the remaining five indicators between 2007/08 and 2008/09 (apparent changes in people being drunk and rowdy in public places and teenagers hanging around on the streets are not statistically significant). The 2008/09 BCS shows that there has been an increase in the proportion of people agreeing that the police and local councils are dealing with anti-social behavior and crime issues that

22 Page 21 Bedford Borough Community Safety Partnership Strategic Assessment matter in the local area, increasing from 45 per cent in the six months to March 2008 to 49 per cent in 2008/09. There is a related decrease in both the proportion of respondents who disagree with this statement (from 25% in 2007/08 to 22% in 2008/09) and the proportion with no opinion (from 30% in 2007/08 to 29% in 2008/09). The proportion of people who think that the CJS as a whole is fair increased from 56 per cent in the six months to March 2008 to 59 per cent in 2008/09. The proportion of people who think that the CJS as a whole is effective remained stable at 38 per cent (the apparent one per cent increase is not statistically significant). 2.3 ANTI-SOCIAL BEHAVIOUR During the assessment period 8 % of General ASB incidents reported were alcohol related. Clear peak time and days are evident; incidents are high throughout the weekend, particularly during the evenings and night-time on a Friday, Saturday and Sunday, peaking between 19:00 and 22:00 hours. The main hotspot area is Bedford Town Centre, with warm spots in the area around Ampthill Road, Elstow Road and London Road. Bedford Town Centre experienced 480 general ASB incidents, during the latest assessment period of which 65 % occurred in just 5 single streets namely Allhallows, Ashburnham Road, Greyfriars, High Street and Midland Road. There is a clear link in the Bedford Town Centre hotspot area with the night-time economy, public houses and clubs generated 11 % of all General ASB incidents. There was a 0.5% increase in the number of reported ASB incidents in in J Division (Bedfordshire) compared to more incidents were reported, we had incidents reported and in we have North Beds saw a 2.7% decrease in the number of reported ASB incidents. In there were reported incidents compared to in Breaking the data down by ILNA area for North Beds we can see that Bedford North saw a 6.5% decrease in the number of reported incidents dropping from 5577 on to 5212 in Looking at the data by incident type we can see that the top 3 incident generators have remained the same. Rowdy & Inconsiderate incidents accounted for 60% of all ASB incidents in and 64% in

23 Page 22 Bedford Borough Community Safety Partnership Strategic Assessment ASB incidents involving vehicles accounted for 12% of ASB incidents in and 11% in ASB incidents involved Neighbours accounted for 8% of all ASB incidents both in and April 2009 ASB incidents for North Beds showed a 2.5% decrease on numbers compared to April 2008, and these figures were in line with the CDRP ASB Reduction target of 5% for in Bedford District overall. However, comparing reports of ASB from 1st April 2009 to 16th November 2009 with 1st April 2008 with 16th November 2008 a 2% increase is forcast from reports last year to this year. ASB levels tended to be highest during June, July and August, and declined in September and October. For the purpose of this profile, November data is included in order to assess the effect of Halloween and Fireworks Night on overall ASB levels, and so cannot be compared to previous months. While it is notable that numbers of reported ASB incidents were consistently higher in 2008 than 2007, this may be as a consequence of increased reporting, as opposed to an actual increase in ASB issues across the Borough. The Summer high trends correlate with reports of anti-social deliberate fire setting and anecdotal information from other partners. Of the categories of ASB identified below, Loutish, Rowdy and Inconsiderate Behaviour consistently accounted for between 45 and 60 percent of all ASB incidents, while Fireworks (either Inappropriate Use Of Fireworks or Noise Created By Fireworks ) accounted for 14 percent and 16 percent of all ASB incidents in November 2007 and 2008 respectively. The maps and charts below indicate the highest concentration of ASB occurs in the Central Bedford / Kempston Urban wards and some specific villages. There is an upward trend in reporting. Total ASB incidents 1/4/09-30/11/ Kingsbrk & Cldwell Kempston Harpur Town Centre Goldington Midland Road Queens Park Ecotts and Wstead Claphm and Oakley Great Barford Newnham Brickhill Bromham & Turvey Putnoe De Parys Clrtn, Sharnbk, Hld to Rsly Castle Rd, Central East

24 Page 23 Bedford Borough Community Safety Partnership Strategic Assessment CHART 1: Anti-social behaviour Incidents subdivided by Wards TABLE 3: Anti-social behaviour Incidents: Monthly Segmentation (2007) TABLE 4: Anti-social behaviour Incidents: Monthly Segmentation (2008) Chart 2: Anti-social behaviour Incidents: Monthly Segmentation (2008)

25 Page 24 Bedford Borough Community Safety Partnership Strategic Assessment Chart 3: Anti-social behaviour Incidents: Monthly Segmentation (Summer 2008) 1400 Anti-social Behaviour, Summer Jun-09 Jul-09 Aug-09 Sep-09 Oct-09 Nov-09 Months Chart 4: Anti-social behaviour Incidents: Monthly Segmentation (Summer 2009)

26 Page 25 Bedford Borough Community Safety Partnership Strategic Assessment Geographical Analysis - Hotspot mapping identifies in both 2007 and 2008 that the main hotspots within Bedford Borough were in Bedford itself, as would be expected due to its urban nature nearly 70 percent of incidents occurred in Bedford in both years. Map 3 Map 1 Map 2

27 Page 26 Bedford Borough Community Safety Partnership Strategic Assessment Map 1: Eastern ASB hotspot Map 2: Town Centre ASB hotspot

28 Page 27 Bedford Borough Community Safety Partnership Strategic Assessment Map 3: Oakley ASB hotspot In Oakley, over half of ASB incidents reported in the period June to November 2008 were recorded as being youth-related. In particular, incidents occurred in locations where youths may congregate, such as the Village Green, in Reynes Drive. Many incidents were said to involve youths hanging around and causing a nuisance, as well as a number where motorcycles and mopeds were said to be causing a nuisance to other residents.

29 Page 28 Bedford Borough Community Safety Partnership Strategic Assessment The following map indicates where in the Borough identified ASB types occurred in their highest concentrations. In the area around Bedford, concentrations are more difficult to identify due to the density of incidents, but in rural locations it is possible to identify concentrations of incidents like Abandoned/Burnt out Vehicles.

30 Page 29 Bedford Borough Community Safety Partnership Strategic Assessment The majority of streets which experienced the highest numbers of reported ASB incidents were in Bedford, though in 2008, two of the top 10 streets were in Kempston, on Bedford Road and Bunyan Road. However, the three streets with the highest number of repeat incidents in both 2007 and 2008 time periods were Church Lane, Tavistock Street and Midland Road. Whilst the numbers of incidents and their positions in the chart changed, on the whole it was the same locations in these streets which were most affected: in Church Lane, Co-Op Welcome, Taste of China takeaway, and The Century public house (which has since been demolished) each experienced high numbers of incidents; in Tavistock Street, most affected were YMCA (27 incidents in 2007 time period alone), KFC takeaway, Addaction and the Londis shop; and in Midland Road, Pilgrims Progress public house, Xpress Chicken, and Atlas 129 taxi rank were all significantly affected by ASB incidents. Table 5: 2007 Repeat anti-social behaviour locations Table 6: 2008 Repeat anti-social behaviour locations

31 Page 30 Bedford Borough Community Safety Partnership Strategic Assessment Whilst the highest concentrations of ASB incidents are mostly found in the urban areas of Bedford Borough, particularly in Bedford itself, there are some warm spots in more rural areas. In particular, three village locations experienced concentrations of incidents in summer 2007 and 2008: Bromham, Sharnbrook, and Stewartby. All three locations predominantly suffered motorcycle and youth-related ASB, at key locations: BROMHAM: Village Hall; One Stop Shop; BP petrol station, Stagsden Road SHARNBROOK: Sharnbrook Upper School; Lodge Road (play area); High Street STEWARTBY: Marston Vale Middle School; Village Hall; Stewartby Club, Stewartby Road OAKLEY: motorcycle and youth-related ASB were also the primary reasons for incidents to be reported at areas including the Sports and Social Club, Church Lane, The Green, Burleigh Place, Lincroft Middle School, Village Green, Reynes Drive Reports of ASB in 2009 are averaging at about 100 a month more than the previous year and quarterly ASB tactical assessments indicate that urban locations remain about the same. ASB Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Ave Table 7: reported ASB. Comparative figures 2008/ /010 (Source: Bedfordshire Police) Key Anti-Social Behaviour Issues - Frequently, when reporting incidents of ASB, youths and alcohol are cited as being at the heart of incidents. As the following chart identifies, during the period June to November 2008, around 10 per cent of all ASB incidents in Bedford Borough were identified as being related to alcohol for instance street drinking, parties spilling out into the street, and aggression as a result of excessive consumption of alcohol. There is evidence that the downturn in the economy is having an effect on the pubs and clubs in the town as fewer are open this year than last, and people are going out to drink later preferring to drink before going out. A concern is raised by Bed:Safe that should a financial squeeze get worse, pubs and clubs may opt to further reduce pricing and reduce the level of security to make savings. In addition, youth-related ASB, which included young people causing a nuisance, throwing stones, and groups of youths intimidating other members of the public accounted for around 20 per cent of all reported incidents each month.

32 Page 31 Bedford Borough Community Safety Partnership Strategic Assessment Stopping Anti-social behaviour is one of the main priorities for the police in Bedford Borough so Operation Nevis, the multi-agency initiative that reduced the problem by 25% in Goldington in 2008, was reintroduced and extended to cover the whole Bedford Borough area this summer. Police tactics included extra patrols, arrests, dispersal orders and alcohol confiscation from under-aged drinkers, letters to parents, filming of persistent offenders, confiscation notices to nuisance vehicles, stop and search in crime hotspots and Acceptable Behaviour Contracts. Problem areas in both rural and urban communities were identified, and safer Neighbourhood Officers went on patrol in police vans, seeking out offenders. Anti-social Behaviour has reduced significantly and each village and district in Bedford Borough will receive a letter with a breakdown of the Nevis activity in their area. A database has been compiled containing information on those who have been officially stopped, so that they can be monitored in the future. The parents of anyone stopped three times were sent a letter detailing what had happened, why the person had been stopped and what would happen if they were stopped again. Anyone stopped five times for Anti-Social Behaviour was automatically issued with an Acceptable Behaviour Contract As a result of Operation Nevis the following was observed; 542 stop and encounters completed on the Operation 48 stop and searches completed on the Operation 5 Arrests completed on the Operation for offences including; possession of Cannabis, FTAX 2 Robbery and theft 6 Acceptable Behaviour Contracts as a direct result of the operation 21 separate Alcohol seizures made on the operation, including 27 cans of lager, 16 large bottles of very strong sprits, 3 bottles of wine, 1 bottle Bacardi breezer and 4 cans of cider. 3 drug seizures, including cannabis resin and cannabis paraphernalia (bongs) 23 letters sent home to parents of children stopped three times or more. 5 referrals to the Multi Action Allocation Group (MAAG) This will increase after the next ASB enforcement meeting 32 Names supplied to the ASB Enforcement meeting for children who are causing issues. In response to the concerns of Oakley residents about groups of young people congregating on the Village Green, a dispersal order has been introduced for the area.

33 Page 32 Bedford Borough Community Safety Partnership Strategic Assessment The Police and Bedford Borough Council worked together to address the problem and resulting Dispersal Order, which will last until February 2010, covers the village green, Grenidge Way, Burleigh Place, Reynes Drive and part of the High Street. This area has suffered from sporadic bouts of Anti-social behaviour over the last couple of years from a small number of youths, some of whom live in the village. Bedfordshire Youth Offending Services, rank number 1 for its performance in and 76% of the young people with whom it works are in education or employment; this is 5% higher than the national average. 2.4 CRIME Environment issues There has been a considerable decrease in the number of abandoned motor vehicles reported to the Borough and the number removed as being abandoned between and This is believed to be partially as a result of increased value of scrap materials and assisting government initiatives. The below tables of abandoned motor vehicles reported and removed by ward show that more vehicles are reported in Kempston, Castle and Queens Park wards. The price of scrap metal can fluctuate and in the event of the value becoming low we may see an increase in the number of abandoned motor vehicles. Vehicles reported and removed Number CARS REPORTED CARS REMOVED / /09 Year comparison Chart 5: Abandoned Vehicles Source: Bedford Borough Council

34 Page 33 Bedford Borough Community Safety Partnership Strategic Assessment Comparison of Abandoned and Remove Vehicles BIDDENHAM BLUNHAM BRICKHILL BROMHAM CASTLE CAULDWELL CLAPHAM COLMWORTH COPLE COTTON END DE PARYS ELSTOW FELMERSHAM GOLDINGTON GREAT BARFORD GREAT DENHAM HARPUR HARROLD KEMPSTON KINGSBROOK LITTLE STAUGHTON NEWNHAM OAKLEY PAVENHAM PODINGTON PUTNOE QUEENS PARK RAVENSDEN RISELEY ROXTON SHARNBROOK SHORTSTOWN STAPLOE SWINESHEAD THURLEIGH TURVEY WILLINGTON WILSTEAD WYBOSTON WYMINGTON No. of Vehicles Location ABANDONED VEHICLES REPORTED 2009 REMOVED VEHICLES 2009 ABANDONED VEHICLES REPORTED 2008 REMOVED VEHICLES 2008 NOTE: 2008 Data for Colmworth, Cotton End, Felmersham, Little Staughton, Ravensden, Roxton, Staploe and Swineshead is incomplete due to administrative changes.

35 Page 34 Bedford Borough Community Safety Partnership Strategic Assessment Ward level data for rubbish and fly tipping was not available. Borough wide data indicates that levels of fly tipping and litter collections have increased Youth Offending Service Most targets set within Bedfordshire Youth Offending Service (BYOS) 8 are being met and the introduction of Restorative Justice programmes with Police is expected to reduce the number of young people entering the Criminal Justice System. At the ODG meeting in November discussion took place in support of increased job opportunities for young people and to link IYS into the Community Safety Forums as resource and working partner. For First Time Entrants, they have a target to reduce these by 1/5 before 2020 and so far have achieved 19.95% which they will need to repeat every year to maintain this for This has implications for agencies: the police are rolling out initiatives and Restorative Justice (RJ) should help First Time Entrants. Of those young people on RJ schemes, none have re-offended and they provide an early opportunity to intervene and divert them away from crime. A lot of the FTEs are from Central Beds and there has been an 18.37% reduction in Bedford Borough. Figures for custody are reducing against a national target to reduce to 5%, Q1 has reduced to 3.3% and they are working with magistrates. ETE (Education Training and Employment) has a national target of 90%. In Q1 they have achieved 88.2% which they regard as a success as it is a hard target. Parenting (engaging with parents) is green with a target of a minimum of 20% of parents. RJ is green (contacting victims and providing support) Substance misuse has a national target of 95% with a minimum of 1 intervention with YOS and they have achieved 100%. Areas of concern are custody, First Time Entrants and ETE which can all fluctuate. It is suggested that Restorative Justice, which will be rolled out from 9 th November 2009 in J Division may increase the figures for low level offences PSA Priorities Overviews from Police, NHS Bedfordshire, Bedfordshire Drug and Alcohol Abuse Team (BDAT) and the Bedfordshire and Luton Fire and Rescue Service outline activity in relation to Government PSA targets as follows: 8 See Appendix 2

36 Page 35 Bedford Borough Community Safety Partnership Strategic Assessment PSA 23, priority action 1: reduce the most serious violence, including tackling serious sexual offences and domestic violence; PSA23, priority action 2 :Continue to make progress on serious acquisitive crime through a focus on the issues of greatest importance in each locality and the most harmful offenders particularly drug-misusing offenders; PSA 23, priority action 3: tackle the crime, disorder and anti-social behaviour issues of greatest importance in each locality, increasing public confidence in local agencies involved in dealing with these issues; PSA23, priority action 4: Reduce re-offending through improved management of offenders PSA25, reduce the harm caused by alcohol and drugs Bedford Police Following on from the Bedfordshire Police Strategic Assessment, crime in Bedford Borough can be split into six key areas; Offences against the Person; Offences against the Dwelling; Offences against the Vehicle; Offences against the Business; Other aspects of Crime and Disorder Offences against the Person One Murder has been committed in the Bedford Borough area over this assessment period. In the short term Wounding offences are displaying an upwards trend with an increase of 17 % when compared with the previous period. The Borough has on average 147 offences per month compared to 125 offences per month last year. Just over 68 % of all Wounding offences concerned an ABH with a further 28 % relating to Common Assaults and 4.25 % to GBH. Top offence locations are our most urban town centres and offences predominantly occur over the weekend. Alcohol was an aggravating factor in just over one fifth of offences and 33 % were related to domestic related offences. Assaults on Police Officers are displaying a downward trend in the Borough.

37 Page 36 Bedford Borough Community Safety Partnership Strategic Assessment Sexual Offences are displaying a downward trend. A 2% reduction or 61 fewer crimes. Sexual Assaults, Rape and Exposures make up the largest share of offences, with increases in exposures, a decrease in rape offences and stable levels of sexual assaults. Offences in non public places, account for one third of the offences, with half of these occurring in a flat. There have been very low numbers of stranger rapes in the current six months. The majority of rape victims were aged between 13 and 29 years. The majority of exposures occurred in the De Parys and Newnham wards. Victims tend to be female and White European whilst the suspects have tended to be male of White European ethnicity. Recorded crime from BCS indicates a rise in sexual offences from 2007/08 to 2008/09 as detailed in Table 8. Population figures (thousands) Household figures (thousands) Violence against the person offences recorded 07/08 Violence against the person offences recorded 08/09 Violence against the person change 07/08-08/09 (%) Violence against the person offences per 1,000 population 08/09 Sexual offences recorded 07/08 Sexual offences recorded 08/09 Sexual offences change 07/08-08/09 (%) Sexual offences per 1,000 population 08/ ,075 1, Table 8: British Crime Survey sexual offences comparison of 2007/ 08 to 2008/09 All recorded sexual offences (not just violent sexual offences) including such things as exposure and voyeurism are above average to the end of October 09, 96 offences were recorded in 2009 (Apr-Oct). This indicates another increase this year but not as dramatic as the Over the last two years the majority of the offences occurred Apr to Oct and then the numbers dropped down in the following months through to March. No reason is obvious for the increase, however a flasher last year caused a slight increase in exposures and there was also a code change in 2008 which slightly increased the figures which may provide us with a part answer.

38 Page 37 Bedford Borough Community Safety Partnership Strategic Assessment Personal Robbery does not feature as a top three crime priority for Bedford Borough or in either the Bedford North or Bedford South ILNAs. iquanta indicates that levels are declining but remain higher than the MSF average. Bedford Boroughs recorded crime rate is consistently higher than the MSCDRP average and the sanction detection rate is showing an improving trend. There is a tendency for higher recorded levels during the Summer months and continuing into Autumn. Bedford is the main area for activity within the Borough with Russell Park and the surrounding streets being a hotspot. Most offending occurs in the late afternoon and in to the early evening, peaking on week days. Victims are generally lone White European males, aged between 10 to 29 years. Mobile phones and cash are the most popular property to be stolen. Weapons were featured in 15 % of Robberies, with knives being the most frequently used. Bedfordshire Police Authority recently commissioned a robbery report by Professor Alan Marlow, visiting professor at the Universtiy of Bedfordshire. Professor Marlow contributed much to Socio-demographic factors. Most of the young people interviewed, as a part of his study, came from poor or dysfunctional backgrounds, had achieved little in education and had very limited life chances. Marlow referred back to Fitzgerald et al. (2003) who undertook a study of personal robbery for the Youth Justice Board. They concluded that areas with high levels of personal robbery correlate strongly with the following: A high proportion of individuals without employment High levels of general deprivation and income deprivation. You want more than you can afford, so the only way is to take it from someone else (Fitzgerald et al p.6 A high rate of population change These factors accounted for 95% of the variation in rates of personal or street robbery in the areas of the country they examined. They also found that these factors linked with cultural issues such as reinforcement of status, territory and the acquisition of desirable goods Locations and Times 10 of the 125 reported robberies occurred outside the urban area of Bedford and Kempston and a further 11 occurred in Kempston itself. No distinct spatial pattern of offences was found. The best that could be stated is that there are some areas, such as prosperous housing areas, where none occurred and there were few in the town centre, perhaps as a consequence of CCTV cameras. Nevertheless, 17 (13%) occurred in parks or recreation areas such as Russell Park and Goldington Green. Of these 17, 12 involved victims in the years age group. Of the remainder, 73% occurred in the street and 14% in or at premises.

39 Page 38 Bedford Borough Community Safety Partnership Strategic Assessment The frequency of robbery offences peaks in the late evening. 55% occurred between the hours of 2000 and % (19) were committed between 1515hrs and 1830hrs the times after the conclusion of the school day. Of the latter group 15 involved victims between the ages of Times Offences Committed Offences Time Chart 7: Temporal comparison of offences Victims of crime 86% of victims were white Europeans and the same proportion was male. The age groups were as follows: Age Percentage yrs yrs yrs 16

40 Page 39 Bedford Borough Community Safety Partnership Strategic Assessment yrs yrs 9 59% of victims are in the age group 10 to 25 years and 34% are 18 years or under The means by which the robbery was committed or intended to be committed were reported as follows (there is some duplication e.g. threats with a weapon): Means Firearm Percentage 1 (1 instance) Knife Involved 16 Other Weapon 8 Physical force 58 Threats of the cases involved some form of physical assault on the victim. Cash, in 50.4% of reports, was the most common property stolen. Credit cards were taken in only 0.6% of the offences. Mobile telephones and MP3 players were stolen in 37% of the reports, but the frequency increases to 47% for victims in the years age group. The theft of mobile phones accounted for more than 25% of the offences and was the most likely first offence. In their study, the incidence of street robbery peaked dramatically after school finished. The Serious Acquisitive Crime Group are concentrating on the leading hotspot of the embankment area. This is mainly young on young and is more bullying rather than street robbery. The least reliable data extracted from the crime reports relates to suspects and offenders. For obvious reasons, the recall of victims is at best partial and often lacking. There may also be duplication if the same offenders are involved in repeat offending. Offenders were described in 98 reports and the quality of descriptions varied widely.

41 Page 40 Bedford Borough Community Safety Partnership Strategic Assessment A single offender was described in 40 reports; Two offenders were described in 30 reports; Three offenders were described in 17 reports; Four offenders were described in 11 reports. Thus, in at least 64% of the reports where suspects were described, robbery was a group activity. In total, there were 180 suspects described. Age was not estimated in all suspect descriptions. The characteristics listed are shown in the following table: Characteristic Described Percentage Male 96 Female 4 White 42 Black 34 Asian 12 Other years years years years 2 Arrested 18

42 Page 41 Bedford Borough Community Safety Partnership Strategic Assessment Age Groups Victims & Suspects Victims Offenders to 18 years 19 to 25 years 26 to 35 years Other Chart 8: Victims and Suspects of Crime The comparatively high incidence of personal robbery in Bedford Borough is not solely explicable by socio-demographic indicators and the survey of crime reports reveals trends common to the general analysis conducted by Smith (2003). Bennett et al (2006) and to a certain extent Fitzgerald et al, concluded from their research that there were certain characteristics of the street culture that contributed to the motivation for the offence of robbery. This perspective is explored in this section through qualitative interviews conducted with professionals and young people in touch with the local street culture. Firearms and other Offensive Weapons - The Blue Light survey indicates that 94% of residents feel safe walking during the day but only 60 % felt safe at night. Violent crime does not feature as a top crime priority for any of our SNTs. Possession of weapons offences is following a slight downward trend over the last five years. Public perception is that knife crime is prevalent, with more young people resorting to carrying knives. Most offences occur at night throughout the week and within the Bedford town centre and its surrounding streets. Common offender characteristics are White European, male and aged between to 20 to 39 years. According to Professor Marlow s report comments coming from the street were as follows; A few people in every gang have got a gun. If you haven t got a gun, you can get one easily. It s mostly the older ones that have guns. I have had a gun put to my head

43 Page 42 Bedford Borough Community Safety Partnership Strategic Assessment However, those more deeply into offending were less convinced of the frequency of gun possession. They heard tales of firearms but none had been seen. If firearms were around older crack or hard drug dealers held them. Knives are frequently carried and the use of baseball bats, knuckledusters and other weapons was described; I know several people who carry knives. It s quite common The predominant weapons used in jacking were fists and feet; Some carry weapons such as knuckle-dusters, nun-chucks and knives but most won t be armed. Fists and feet are the main weapons Hate Crime within the Borough has remained stable over the last three years however numbers have increased over the last 6 month period. J Division performs well in terms of offence levels in relation to its MSGs and is above its family average for detections. The majority of Hate Crimes are racially motivated, with homophobic and religious motivations comprising a very small number of the total reports. The town centre and its surrounding streets remain a hot spot for offences. 20 % of offences had alcohol or drugs as an aggravating factor. Asian and White European males are most likely to be victims of a Hate Crime offence with victim s ages averaging from 20 to 49 years. The main offenders are White European males aged 20 to 29 years. Domestic Related Crime 9 is highlighted by the Blue Light Survey to be one of 5 priorities they public would like the police to concentrate on. There are issues with data quality particularly in relation to indentify crimes and incidents as domestic related. Alcohol is a major contributory factor in domestic incidents, in the last 6 months 27% of domestic related incidents in the Borough were recorded as drug or alcohol related. There is evidence of weekend peaks, particularly in the early hours and late at night on a Saturday and Sunday. There is no evidence of any seasonal trends. Honour Based Violence is on the increase within the Borough with 13 recorded incidents in 2008 and 8 in the first six months of According to MO codes, knives only feature in 2% of domestic incidents with the majority of these being self harm cases. Victims are mainly female (over 70 %), aged between 20 and 39 years and White European. The Asian and Black ethnic groups are over represented as victims of domestic related offences. 90 % of incidents of domestic violence, children are said to be in the same or an adjacent room. 9 See Appendix 3 for a detailed breakdown of case referrals as provided by Bedfordshire Domestic Abuse Team

44 Page 43 Bedford Borough Community Safety Partnership Strategic Assessment Offences against the dwelling An increase has been seen in Burglary Dwellings over the mid to short term although long term there is a declining trend. 17% reduction in House Burglary (152 fewer crimes) Burglaries tend to increase in the Winter months and are usually at their lowest in Autumn. Bedford North ILNA has accounted for around 66 percent of Burglary Dwelling offences and this has been increasing year-on-year. Bedford South ILNA has seen a slight increase in the terms of volume but the overall percentage has not changed considerably. Bedford Central ILNA has seen a 37 % decrease compared to the same period in the previous year. Bedford has accounted for the largest proportion of burglaries which is expected with it being the Boroughs largest urban area. However, Queens Park, Cauldwell, Kingsbrook and Harpur are all emerging hotspots. The only property type to show a decrease was copper with jewellery, ipods/mp3 players and antiques all showing an increase in the last 6 months. The majority of Burglary Dwelling suspects are White European males, aged less than 39 years. Of those offenders arrested 14 % appeared drunk, 23 % admitted to having consumed alcohol in the last 24 hours, 15 percent stated they were drug dependent and 17 % had used a non-prescription drug. Distraction burglaries account for a further 4.25 % and the short, medium and long term trend showing offences are stable. Auto theft burglaries in Bedford Borough do not appear to be committed by organised crime groups. Over 70 % of the vehicles are recovered, mainly from the local area, which appears to be above the Force average with no major difference between the make and models of the vehicle. Vauxhalls and Fords are the most targeted vehicles followed by Mercedes. In terms of volume, Criminal Damage to Dwellings is high and is consistently a public priority within Bedford Borough. Over half of all offences involved windows or glass being smashed. Bedford and Kempston are currently among the top offence locations with specific and persistent hotspot locations in Bedford town centre, the Elstow Road area, Woodside/Goldington/Elms Farm, the Black Tom area and smaller concentrations in Kempston South and Shortstown. Analysis shows there is no real evidence of seasonality but there are peak times at weekends particularly late Saturdays and early Sunday mornings. There is believed to be a link with the night-time economy, in terms of both pubs and clubs and underage drinking. There are slightly more female than male victims and most victims are White European. Crimes tend to be committed by lone offenders whom are White European males mainly aged between years.

45 Page 44 Bedford Borough Community Safety Partnership Strategic Assessment Offences against the vehicle Across the whole of Bedford Borough, theft from a motor vehicle does not feature as a top three crime priority. Bedford Boroughs long term trend is showing a decline though it is consistently above its MSG average. In terms of volume theft from a motor vehicle is relatively low, accounting for less than 3 % and the general trend in terms of total recorded and committed is declining. Overall theft from a motor vehicle as seen a 17% reduction or 214 fewer crimes. Bedford and Kempston, have historically been and continue to be the top vehicle theft offence locations. Seasonally offences are high in Spring with the vast majority of vehicle thefts committed in the early hours of the morning on a Saturday, peaking between midnight and 04:00. Vauxhalls and Fords are primarily targeted and there is a 55 % recovery rate within the first 24 hours. The average vehicle value is Motorcycles/scooters account for 26 percent of those taken. Theft of a motor vehicle 13% reduction (48 fewer crimes) Pedal Cycle Thefts are at their highest during Summer and Autumn, with September and October historically experiencing the highest number of offences. Nearly three quarters of Pedal Cycle Thefts in Bedford Borough occur in the Bedford North or Central ILNA. The top towns for these offences are Bedford with 83 % and then Kempston with 11%. Over 40 percent of all thefts occurred from a dwelling particularly from gardens and yards. Offences are sporadic throughout the week, with peaks on a Friday and Saturdays particularly between 11:00 and 20:00 with relatively high numbers during the early hours on a Saturday. Common suspect characteristics were White European males aged between 10 and 19 years who came from the Bedford Borough area Offences against the business Business Robberies have been exceptionally low in Bedford Borough during the current period with nearly half the number of offences when compared with the previous six months and the same period last year. Ram Raid offences are exceptionally low in the current period and appear to have become a rarity in Bedford Borough. The only location of note for offences was Elms Farm Industrial Estate. Overall Making Off Without Payment offences have decreased averaging around 7 a month compared with 22 per month prior to the introduction of the Forecourt Crime Unit. There has

46 Page 45 Bedford Borough Community Safety Partnership Strategic Assessment been no change in the locations targeted, the BP in Newnham Avenue, BP in Elstow and Tesco in Cardington Road are all repeat locations. Shoplifting offences are displaying a slight upwards trend over the last three years. Levels are averaging around 68 offences per month. As expected, Bedford was the hotspot town with supermarkets, departmental stores, chemist, petrol stations and clothes shops as recurrent targets. Persistently targeted locations were Tesco in Cardington Road, BP Filling Station and Marks and Spencer Simply Food in Newnham Avenue, Boots the Chemist in the Harpur Centre, Debenhams in the High Street and Wilkinsons in the High Street. Offences are evenly spread over the week with most offences occurring between 12:00 and 15:00. Most common offender s characteristics were White European males between 20 to 39 years. 30 % of those arrested were born in Bedford, compared with 5.3% from Poland and 6.9 % from Romania. Increases in these two ethnic groups have been seen over the last three years. Nearly 20 percent of those persons arrested stated they were either drug dependent or admitted to having consumed alcohol in the last 24 hours. Of those drug tested in custody 28.7 percent showed a positive result. Alcohol, foodstuffs and cosmetics were mainly stolen with a total estimated value of over in the last 6 months Other aspects of Crime and Disorder There is a strong correlation between the number of proactive police operations and the level of Drug offences recorded, this has been evident in the current reporting period, when there was a reduction in the number of supply offences recorded, half the number that were recorded in the previous six month period, although possession with intent to supply offences remained consistent with previous years. Possession offences have been increasing year-on-year along with cannabis which forms the majority of offences. Supply offences have been minimal in the last six months with just 2 offences of supply of cannabis and crack cocaine. From 1 st April 2009 compulsory drug testing on arrest was introduced in Bedford and Dunstable. Bedford is showing the lowest percentage of positive tests at 26 % with Luton at 27 % and Dunstable at 32 %. There is an increasing proportion of young people involved in drug offences. Younger people are now being recruited to street deal and in some cases this involves violence and intimidation. The general market in Bedford continues to be very open, making it easier than ever to become a dealer. The majority of offenders resided in the Bedford and Kempston area. Between April and end September 09 98% of an average of 121 arrests a month for signal crimes were drug tested at Bedford. The below table outlines the number tested positive for drugs and the type of drug.

47 Page 46 Bedford Borough Community Safety Partnership Strategic Assessment Positive tests for Month Tests Positive Tests % Negative Tests % Opiates % Cocaine % Both % APR % 63 77% 11 13% 5 6% 3 4% MAY % 98 77% 10 8% 9 7% 10 8% JUNE % 81 68% 11 9% 10 8% 18 15% JULY % 92 72% 14 11% 12 9% 10 8% AUG % 98 78% 12 10% 1 1% 14 11% SEPT % 98 77% 8 6% 6 5% 15 12% TOTAL % % 66 9% 43 6% 70 10% Table 9: Drug test results on arrest - April 2009 to March 2010 Professor Marlow states that illegal drugs of all types were easily accessible. Cannabis in its various forms and cocaine were the most frequently available. A new strain of cannabis called cheese (so named because of its aroma) was mentioned. There is considerable cutting of cocaine with all sorts of compounds. Crack cocaine is available but tends to be used by older people. Cannabis or weed is the most commonly used by young people: If you ve got a 10 note you can always get weed or something similar, even if there s a drought, there s so much about and some one will get it for you Local drug dealers were well known to most of the respondents. Whilst drugs were frequently used, particularly cannabis, it did not seem from the interviews that there was a strong causal link between personal robbery and drug misuse. It seems that the purchase of drugs from the proceeds of robbery might be one option amongst others. The acquisition and consumption of alcohol was also mentioned Current intelligence highlights that drug dealers are not only engaged in the supply of drugs but are known to handle stolen goods from burglaries, theft from shops or vehicles and are known to enforce drug debts, some linked to violence and many unreported. The future intelligence picture in Bedford appears to be getting worse, particularly with the onset of cheaper drugs and lower purity, therefore, making the overall profit for dealers less. In Bedford there are 31 Prolific and Priority Offenders (PPO s) and it is estimated that 60 percent of those are reported to have drug habits.

48 Page 47 Bedford Borough Community Safety Partnership Strategic Assessment Cannabis was reclassified from a Class C to a Class B drug on 26 th January, in Bedford there appears to be a perception that the Police are not interested in cannabis offences and large amounts continue to be cultivated particularly by home growers. Prices remain stable for both heroin and crack. Heroin purity seems to have remained stable while the purity of crack cocaine deals on the street has fallen significantly. There was a report of contaminated heroin in the Bedford area, with 12 reports over a couple of days and with 6 of these reports resulting in persons being admitted to hospital. Cocaine continues to be a popular drug, due to its decreasing value and its availability. Within Bedford Borough there have been police incidents during the previous 3 year period, of these, incidents fall into the Quality of Life category. This figure represents fewer than 20 % of all recorded police incidents. In terms of influencing factors, Quality of Life incidents were proportionately more likely to have been recorded as being alcohol related than other incidents. In the comparison period, 68 percent have occurred in Bedford and 14 % in Kempston. During the six month assessment period the share in Bedford fell slightly to 67 % but in Kempston the share remained the same. Within Bedford Borough the greatest share of Abandoned Vehicles incidents occurred in Bedford (60 %), followed by Kempston (13 %). There has been little change to these shares within the latest assessment period. Abandoned vehicle incidents have been 23 percent lower during the latest 6 month assessment period when compared with the same period in There are two persistent hotspots areas, these being Bedford and Kempston with small concentrations in Shortstown and Clapham, which each experienced 2 % of all incidents during the 3 year period. Within Bedford Borough, there have been 200 reports of Begging and Vagrancy in the two and a half year comparison period being examined; of these, 6 % have been recorded as relating to alcohol. Within the Bedford Borough areas 94 % of incidents occurred in Bedford followed by 3 % in Kempston. Within Bedford Borough, the greatest share of Animal Nuisance incidents occurred in Bedford (55 %) followed by Kempston (9 %). A slight upward trend is evident but seasonality does not appear to be a factor. Incidents are occurring throughout the day, and on all days of the week but with definite peaks on a Friday and Saturday, particularly after 19:00 on a Saturday. There are a number of persistent hotspots with the three worst being Bedford Town Centre, the area around Elstow Road in Bedford and the Goldington ward. Within these hotspots the majority of incidents involved dogs, some of which related to dogs biting or threatening to bite people.

49 Page 48 Bedford Borough Community Safety Partnership Strategic Assessment Within Bedford Borough the greatest share of Domestic Nuisance incidents occurred in Bedford (68 %, followed by Kempston (17 %). Weekend periods were key peak days, particularly on Friday and Saturday nights and extending into the following morning. There are a number of hotspot areas mainly in Bedford and Kempston; Bedford Town Centre, the Fenlake area south of the river and the Goldington /Woodside area of Bedford. All show as quite large and persistent hotspot areas. Within these hotspot areas there have been some repeat problems which have continued into the current 6 month assessment period. Just five streets account for nearly 70 % of all Domestic Nuisance incidents. These streets are Bents Close in Clapham, Christine Road in Bedford, Church Lane in Bedford, Orchard Street in Kempston and Station Road in Kempston. Church Lane has the highest number of incidents, the majority of incidents reported related to either the Taste of China Chinese Takeaway, or Bury Court flats, whilst in Orchard Street number 102 is repeatedly reported due to very loud music being played Within Bedford Borough 40 % of Environmental Nuisance incidents were in Bedford with 10 % in Kempston. There is no evidence of seasonality, although levels overall were slightly higher in April, September, October and November. Incidents levels are at their highest on a Saturday, Sunday and Monday, with no clear time peaks. In the latest 6 month assessment period, incidents were reported throughout the week and half occurred between 14:00 and 17:00 hours. There are two hotspot areas, both situated in Bedford, the town centre and in the area between Ampthill and Elstow Road. There has been a slight downward trend in Off Road Nuisance incidents in the last 6 months when compared to the same time period in There are clear signs of seasonality with a sharp decrease in incidents in October, followed by a similar increase in March. Incidents clearly peak at the weekends and occur more frequently during the evening and night-time. Persistent and current hotspots are evident in a number of areas, with the three worst being the area to the south of the river in Bedford, around Mile Road and Fenlake Road, Goldington Ward and Bedford Town Centre. There have been 12 reports of Prostitution within the Borough in the last two and a half years. Within the 6 month assessment period 23 % of Trespass incidents occurred in Bedford and 6 percent in Kempston. Roxton has developed as a small hotspot in latest assessment period with 15 percent of incidents. In the latest period there has been considerably fewer incidents than in the corresponding period in A seasonal pattern is evident, with incidents generally lower in the Winter and reaching their peak in the Summer months. Incidents are occurring on all days of the week but there are two peak days. Mondays particularly between 09:00 and 17:00 hours

50 Page 49 Bedford Borough Community Safety Partnership Strategic Assessment and Friday between 18:00 and 20:00 hours. There are a number of persistent hotspot areas, particularly in Bedford. The two main hotspots are situated in the area around the Oasis Beach Pool in Cardington Road and at Mill Meadows. Alcohol Related Crime and Disorder incidents peak at the weekend particularly between 22:00 and 02:00 hours on Saturdays and Sundays which links in with the night-time economy. The main areas of alcohol related crime and disorder in Bedford Borough are in Bedford and Kempston with additional small concentrations in Bromham, Clapham and Wootton. Approximately 6 percent of crime and 5 percent of incidents are recorded as being alcohol related across the Borough with small concentrations of offences relating to youths and domestic abuse within these percentages. In the Borough in the latest 6 months Wounding and Serious Violence accounted for 35 %, Harassment and Public Order Offences for 19 % and Criminal Damage for 12 %. The Angel public house has been the scene of raising number of violent incidents and disorder in the recent months, including a slashing, spraying of unknown substance at police officers and numerous public order offences. The location also has an issue with underage drinking that has contributed to incidents away from The Angel. As a result of this the police have served papers on the license holders and Bedford Borough Council for a hearing; on 17/09/09 the licence for the sale of alcohol at the The Angel was revoked for a period of 3 months which in effect closes the location for the sale of alcoholic beverages. iquanta shows that Criminal Damage offences in Bedford Borough dropped well below the Most Similar Groups (MSG) average at the end of 2008, and was maintained at the beginning of 2009, this being the lowest level of criminal damage for 3 years. 20% reduction in criminal damage (573 fewer incidents) In terms of volume Criminal Damage to dwellings is high and it is consistently a public priority in Bedford Borough. Persistent hotspots are within the town centre, Elstow Road area, Woodside/Goldington/Elms Farm area, Black Tom and small concentrations in Kempston South and Shortstown. There is no real evidence of seasonality but peak time analysis indicates that offences are mostly committed at the weekends particularly on a Saturday evening into Sunday morning. This crime tends to be committed by lone offenders, most of whom are White European males and between the ages of 10 to 29 years. iquanta shows that the number of recorded Burglary Other offences are higher than the MSG average however, the long term trend is downwards. The sanction detection rate for J Division is generally low when compared with the MSG average and in terms of volume Burglary Other Buildings is quite high. Burglary Other Building is not a public priority within the Borough. The

51 Page 50 Bedford Borough Community Safety Partnership Strategic Assessment main premises being targeted are shops and other commercial premises. Bedford dominates the picture with the town centre remaining a hotspot. Peak time analysis indicates that offences are committed at the weekend and mainly overnight. This crime tends to be committed by multiple offenders, most of whom are White European males aged between 20 to 39 years. Bedfordshire comes within the top four LCJBs for public confidence and crime is falling across the county. We perform well in several areas of measurement and work hard to improve performance in other areas. We have reduced the number of outstanding failure to appear warrants by half since % of our fines are collected (against a national target of 83%). We continually meet both the Persistent Young Offender (PYO) Pledge and Stretch targets of 71 and 65 days arrest to sentence. 56% of offences brought to justice were obtained through the court process in Bedfordshire (against a national average of 50%), and in June 2008, CPS prosecutions we 90% successful. Men and women of all ages, from different ethnic and work backgrounds are currently volunteering in the CJS in Bedfordshire. 120 Special Constables each give an average of 350 hours annually in support of Bedfordshire Police s regulars. They come from all walks of life with a BME representation of about 9% and 29% women. Bedfordshire Youth Offending Service benefits from the unpaid services of nine part-time and two full-time volunteers who are aged 19 to 43. In out magistrate s courts, we have over 300 magistrates, all members of their communities. The Average are is 53; half are women. Ten per cent declare themselves as disabled and 43 magistrates are from black and minority ethnic backgrounds. As one of the smallest LCJS, we receive the lowest level of funding from the Office of Criminal Justice Reform (OCJR). For 2008/09, the total budget was 140k.

52 Page 51 Bedford Borough Community Safety Partnership Strategic Assessment S'n det % Last yr This yr Chge Target +/- tgt Robbery 30% 26% -4% 26% 0% House B 13% 20% 7% 14% 6% ToMV 16% 15% -1% 17% -2% TfMV 10% 3% -6% 10% -7% SAC 13% 12% -2% 13% -1% VAP 55% 54% -1% 55% -1% Cr damage 14% 15% 1% 16% -1% All crime 25% 26% 1% 26% 0% ASB victim Chge Target +/- tgt Overall satis 69% 67% -2% - - W BME gap -2% -2% 0% - - Crime victim Chge Target +/- tgt Overall satis 76% 79% 3% 82% -3% W BME gap -17% -17% 0% -7% -10% Table 10: Sanction Detection rates for 2009 and victim of crime and ASB satisfaction levels (January July) DEVELOPMENT PRIORITY: The Partnership should consider how to improve community intelligence that will assist police in achieving burglary sanction detection rates and also improving ASB satisfaction rates NHS Bedfordshire Impacts on the following National Indicators; NI 17 Perception of anti-social behaviour; NI 21 Dealing with public comments concerning crime by the local council and police; NI 22 Perception of parents taking responsibility for the behaviour of their children in the area; NI 23 Perception that people in the area will act with respect and consideration to each other;

53 Page 52 Bedford Borough Community Safety Partnership Strategic Assessment NI 27 Understanding of local concerns regards anti-social behaviour and crime by the local council and police; NI 41 Perceptions of drunk or unacceptable behaviour as a problem; NI 42 Perceptions of drug use or drug dealing as a problem; NI 119 Self-reported measure of peoples overall health and wellbeing; NI 138 Satisfaction of people 65 and over with both home and neighbourhood; NI 139 The extent to which older people receive the support they need to live independent A healthy Borough The conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work and age have a significant impact upon their health. These circumstances are widely known as the determinants of health and are shaped by the distribution of money, power and resources. The diagram below, known as the Dahlgren & Whitehead rainbow (see Figure 1), presents the determinants of health in terms of layers of influence, starting with the individual and moving to wider society. High quality health care and local services are all fundamental to the quality of our lives and achieving and keeping good health. While these services make a contribution to health, most of the key determinants lie outside the direct influence of health care, for example:-

54 Page 53 Bedford Borough Community Safety Partnership Strategic Assessment High educational standards; Good housing with a clean attractive environment; Stable communities offering good employment opportunities; A wide range of leisure and cultural facilities; Sustainable transport choices; Low crime rates An overview of the health of the residents Life Expectancy and Healthy Life Expectancy are higher in Bedford Borough than England as a whole, both at Birth and at the Age of 65. Life Expectancy in was slightly lower among both males and females in Bedford Borough than in the East of England. Females have a higher life expectancy than males in Bedford Borough, the East of England, and in England. Life expectancy at birth in the Borough has increased from 76.5 years ( ) to 78.6 years ( ) for men and from 81.2 to 82.1 for females. Life expectancy at age 65 has risen from 16.8 to 18.4 years for men, and from 19.8 to 20.3 years for females over the same period.

55 Page 54 Bedford Borough Community Safety Partnership Strategic Assessment At Birth Life Expectancy Healthy Life Expectancy Males Females Males Females Bedford Borough East of England England At Age 65 Males Females Males Females Bedford Borough East of England England Table 11: Life Expectancy and Healthy Life Expectancy (years) Source: Life expectancy and healthy life expectancy at birth by Government Office Region, country and sex, England & Wales, 2001, ONS, 2007; Life expectancy at age 65 (years) by local authority in England & Wales, to , ONS, 2009 At ward level, there is a gap between the best and worst life expectancies. For women it is 19.1 years (96.6 years in Eastcotts and 77.5 years in Harpur). For men the gap is 7.2 years (80.5 years in Oakley and 73.3 years in Harpur). Life expectancy, healthy life expectancy and the level of long-term conditions by age all correlate strongly with deprivation levels. Over the past ten years, rates of death from all causes have decreased in both men and women in Bedford and have remained better or close to the England average. The main factors driving the lower life expectancy in disadvantaged areas are cancer and cardiovascular disease (CVD) (see Figure 2).

56 Page 55 Bedford Borough Community Safety Partnership Strategic Assessment Chronic breathing diseases and pneumonia, 1.8% suicide and injury undetermined, 6.2% Liver disease, 3.3% accidents, 6.7% all cancers, 33.1% all circulatory diseases, 23.0% all other causes, 26.0% Chart 9: Main causes of reduced life expectancy in Bedford Borough, At present, the health of people in Bedford is generally close to or significantly better than the England average. The Staying Healthy strand of the Healthy Bedford plan relates specifically to promoting healthy lifestyles. This includes a focus on harm reduction and tackling inequalities through teenage pregnancy initiatives, reducing sexually transmitted infections, addressing alcohol and drug misuse Alcohol misuse Alcohol misuse can have serious health consequences. It is associated with crime and disorderly behaviour (particularly within the home), accidents and unsafe sexual activities. It carries an increased risk of serious illness. Bedford Town Centre has a thriving night time economy, but this has brought with it attendant problems in relation to the management of alcohol misuse.

57 Page 56 Bedford Borough Community Safety Partnership Strategic Assessment It is important to acknowledge the murder of a 17 year old male student in December 2007, following his drinking at venues within Bedford Town Centre. The following television report by B.B.C. Look East in November 2008, highlighted under-age drinking by 16 year old girls. More up to date information shows that between 1st April 2008 and 31st December 2008, there were 283 offences committed in the Town Centre at night. 98 were offences of violence with 39 occurring in or around the High Street; 67 were recorded as disorder with 32 of these being in the High Street; 82 were offences of theft with 43 of these being in the High Street. The majority of all these offences (181) involved 6 licensed establishments, 4 being located on the High Street. The most recent figures from Police are for the period between and focus on offences of violence. These show a total of 98 offences, all in the High Street area. January February March April May June July Over the same period and in the same area, a further: 7 offences of Criminal Damage, 5 offences of Theft, 4 Drug related offences and; 9 other crimes were recorded Alcohol impact on Domestic Violence An A.S.C. report entitled Domestic Incidents and Alcohol: The Evidence explored the specific relationship between alcohol and domestic violence and highlighted a number of issues with regard to alcohol related data collection. The main findings where; Limited acceptance of the significance of the co-occurrence of alcohol use and domestic violence; A general sense of ambivalence with regard to alcohol related data collection; A clear need for the development of collaborative programmes that deal with women who have experienced/are experiencing domestic violence, and perpetrators where there are specific alcohol issues; A need for government intervention to bring about the inclusion of alcohol in routine data collection on Crime and more specifically domestic violence;

58 Page 57 Bedford Borough Community Safety Partnership Strategic Assessment % of domestic violence being committed when perpetrators were under the influence of alcohol. (Kenshaw et al 2000) It also acknowledged that it was common for victims to also have alcohol problems. The Police unit with current responsibility for Violent and Sexual offences including Domestic Violence, has been able to provide the following: Between April 2008 and December 2008 there were a total of 335 sexual offences in the Bedfordshire area; In 41 (12%) of these offences, alcohol was mentioned; 12 of these were in Bedford locations; The times these incidents occurred were between 2pm and 7pm, the majority being between 4pm and 6pm and then between 9pm and 4am Drink Driving Between April 2007 and April 2009, there were 64 drink driving offences committed in Bedford Borough. April 2007 April 2008 April 2008 April 2009 Qtr 1 5 Qtr 1 7 Qtr 2 12 Qtr 2 7 Qtr 3 9 Qtr 3 15 Qtr 4 5 Qtr 4 4 Total 31 Total 33 2 of these were committed by males under 18 years (16 & 17 years); 22 of these were committed by people years; 23 of these were committed by people years; 17 of these were committed by people years; Of these 7 were female and 57 were male; Of these 54 resulted in Court cases.

59 Page 58 Bedford Borough Community Safety Partnership Strategic Assessment The following table has been provided by the Probation Service and shows 1 year s ( ) throughput of pre-sentence reports prepared for drink driving offences, the proposals made within these reports and the sentences imposed. Bedford Borough 08/09 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 PSRs Driving etc after consuming alcohol or taking drugs Failing to provide specimen Driving whilst unfit through drink or drugs Proposals Proposals for programmes Proposals for supervision only Proposals for UPW 10 only Sentences Alcohol treatment LIAP DiDp Homelessness and Street Drinking The end of year report (20th February st March 2009) produced by the Anglia Care Trust s Street Outreach Project totalled the number of rough sleepers contacted as 104 of which roughly half were consistently rough sleeping 85 of these were male and 19 female; 5 were aged under 20 years, 20 were in their twenties, 29 in their 30s, 29 in their 40s and 18 were over 50 years. 29 of these were known to be accessing support from a drug or alcohol agency and 36 were known to have issues with alcohol misuse Alcohol related Fires The following figures for Alcohol related Fires January March 2002, were submitted for the County: 10 Unpaid Work

60 Page 59 Bedford Borough Community Safety Partnership Strategic Assessment January February March TOTAL In addition 82 alcohol related hoax calls were attended. Bedford Borough Partnership, working with the retail sector is committed to tackling alcohol abuse by; Reducing the numbers of young people using alcohol by; Improving the quality and quantity of alcohol education in schools and colleges; Developing the approach to providing family focused services; Challenging and changing the idea that drunken anti-social behaviour is acceptable or normal; Working with the industry and retailers to restrict that availability of alcohol; Continuing to improve the quality of targeted and specialist treatment services; Ensure the availability of effective interventions to rehabilitate and minimise harm to those who misuse alcohol; Reduce the levels of alcohol related violent crime; Reduce the percentage of the public who perceive drunk and rowdy behaviour to be a problem in their area Substance Abuse It is possible to establish the size and make up of Bedfordshire s problem drug using population using the Estimates of the Prevalence of Opiate and/or Crack Cocaine Use ( ) (Home Office, 2006), along with the Office for National Statistics (ONS) 2006 mid year Census estimates. In Bedfordshire s problem drug using (PDU) population is estimated to be 1398 individuals, which is approximately 0.35% of the total population, a reduction of 0.15% from last year. NDTMS reports the number of Opiate and/or Crack users (PDU) in effective treatment end of March 2008 is 796 which is 57% of the estimated PDU population in This represents a 19% increase from 38% as at March 2007 but is derived from a combination of increased numbers in effective treatment and a much reduced prevalence estimate in (1398) to that in (1946).

61 Page 60 Bedford Borough Community Safety Partnership Strategic Assessment Using the needs analysis data top key priorities for the BDAT Partnership have been identified. These priorities reflect delivery against both nationally and locally identified indicators: To continue to increase the numbers of individuals in effective drug treatment; To Improve the levels of Successful Discharges from drug treatment; To respond to the emerging needs of stimulant users, and develop interventions to address penetration rates of the PDU; To continue to provide treatment support and interventions for offenders using Class A drugs through the DIP programme and to respond to the implementation of drug testing on arrest in Bedfordshire; To ensure improvement in drug treatment Attrition Rates for DIP clients, which will increase numbers of clients moving from DIP Tier 2 into Tier 3 drug treatment; To ensure there is a working Harm Reduction Strategy which provides a response to blood-borne virus control by providing vaccination for Hep B and screening and treatment for Hep C and prevention of overdose and drug related deaths; To commission an audit of clinical governance across all treatment provision and develop systems to ensure drug treatment provision is provided within a clinically sound governance framework Needs Assessment PDU - cohorts show big shifts (between 8% and 13%) between and towards male clients in treatment within the year; Cocaine - 7% shift towards female clients in treatment within the year (to 32%); Opiates - 6% reduction in Asian cohort in treatment within the year between and ; Cannabis - 5% increase in 'other' ethnic category in possibly due to Eastern European influx; PDU - big increases (13% - 17%) in the proportions of year old clients in treatment within the year; Cannabis and cocaine - big shifts (+9%, +16% respectively) towards younger users (15-24 years) in treatment in away from the age group; Injecting status the data becoming more reliable as the frequency of use of the unknown category has generally reduced one significant exception shows an increase in unknown statuses for stimulant users in treatment within the year, the reason for which is currently unclear.

62 Page 61 Bedford Borough Community Safety Partnership Strategic Assessment Sexual Health Promoting healthy lifestyle and behaviours includes encouraging a healthier diet and increasing physical activity, and also sexual health and sensible drinking advice. Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) have increased markedly over the past decade, in line with national trends. STIs disproportionally affect young people and Chlamydia, the most common STI, infects 10% of young people aged There has been a downward trend in the number of cases of gonorrhoea in Bedford, in line with national trends. The teenage conception rate in Bedford is rising, and increased from 36.4 per 1000 girls in , to 39.1 per 1000 girls in , compared to 33.3 in the East of England. Teenage conceptions are a concern in parts of Cauldwell and Kingsbrook wards. Bedfordshire s rates of alcohol consumption are in line with the national average, but binge drinking is a particular problem nationwide Mental Health Depression is slightly more likely to be identified in Bedford Borough (8.74% of patients) than nationally (7.52%). However, the prevalence of severe mental illness is low (0.87%) compared to national rates (0.73%) based on GP records (QOF/QMAS March 2009). Although Bedfordshire is a fairly affluent county there are significant pockets of deprivation especially in the Bedford area (see Figure 4). There are also substantial health inequalities within Bedford by location, gender, income and ethnicity.

63 Page 62 Bedford Borough Community Safety Partnership Strategic Assessment Figure 4: Differences in deprivation between small areas in Bedford compared to the local authority as a whole (based on Indexes of Multiple Deprivation 2007) Inequalities do not only relate to deprivation or geography. The following groups are at risk of becoming marginalised and often experience poorer health outcomes: Homeless and rough sleepers The prison population People on probation People with disabilities People with mental health problems Ethnic minority groups Gypsies and travellers Migrant workers Asylum seekers and refugees Looked after children and young people Not in Education, Employment or Training (NEET) Older People People living in poverty are more likely to suffer poor health. For example the largest difference in life expectancy between men living in the most and least deprived areas within Bedford is