Ballymoney 6 month DPP report 2008/09 - Police Service of ...

Area Commanders IntroductionThis report shows that there have been 94 more crimes in the period from April to September 08 than the same period last year. Ibelieve however it is only fair to put this in the context of the figures for 06/07 when there were 143 more crimes than in 07/08.There are therefore 49 less crimes in the past six months than the same period two years ago.The yearly trend is as follows - 1102 in 05/06, 1054 in 06/07 and 956 in 07/08. It is not possible to bring crime down year on yearespecially as the Borough is growing and unemployment and the recession are biting.The most notable increases have occurred in Burglary and Criminal Damage. As regards Criminal Damage it is worthremembering that there were 210 incidents in the first 6 months of 06/07 as compared to 135 in the first 6 months of 07/08. Asregards burglary it should be noted there are approximately 100 more burglaries in the District compared to the same period lastyear and that of the 70 burglaries in our Area 24 relate to dwellings. I am pleased to report that the clearance rate for burglary inBallymoney has risen to 12.2%, which is over 2% above that of the Service. This is due in no small part to having the detectivesbased in Ballymoney investigate burglaries in the Area.Since the end of September 08 the overall clearance rate in Ballymoney has continued to rise to its present level of 16.7%. This islargely due to officers becoming more proficient with the new Niche computer system.Of the seven Local Policing Targets, which can be reported on, you will see that we have exceeded the target in four areas and weare the same as last year in another target area.Much effort has gone into addressing the problem of underage drinking and it is pleasing to note that reports of Anti socialBehaviour have reduced from 609 to 554. Our Neighbourhood Team continues to work very hard to implement the SaferNeighbourhood Action Plans (SNAPs) to increase visibility and reassurance to the people in the Borough of Ballymoney.David Wallace Chief Inspector3