The public's input is wanted to help shape the town's strategy to fight crime and disorder into the next Millennium.

The Warrington Crime Audit has revealed that crime across the borough has fallen by 19 per cent since 1994 and that crime rates are among the lowest in the north west.

The survey, which used police statistics as well as input from 8,000 residents and 1,400 businesses, will now help shape the Community Safety Strategy which will be introduced as part of the Crime and Disorder Act in April.

Figures show that crime is low in Warrington and continuing to drop with massive reductions in crimes such as burglary.

The number of burglaries has fallen by more than 50 per cent in the last five years, although it still accounts for 11 per cent of recorded offences.

Violent crime has increased in the town and now accounts for nine per cent of all crimes, while vehicle-related incidents make up 23 per cent.

Warrington's police chief, Superintendent Kevin Mayhew, believes the results are positive: "The good news is that crime is low in Warrington and that it is a relatively safe place to live.

"However we can not be complacent and we need to work together to beat it.

"While we have done well to tackle problems such as burglaries there are problems such as violent crime and we are looking at doing things to tackle this too," he said.

The audit showed that people's fears of being victims of crime far outweigh the likelihood of them actually becoming one.

Sam Chapman, a policy advisor with Warrington Borough Council, said: "Concerns about crime are one of the most important subjects. About three per cent of people said they had experienced burglary but 63 per cent said they were worried about it.

"There's an awful lot of worry and we need to make some progress about reducing that worry.

"We need a communication strategy to tell people what the real chances are of being involved in a crime by involving the community more.

"The main point is that we need to know if we have got it right and we want to hear the views of the people in the town," he said.

NINE main areas of concern were highlighted in the questionnaires returned to Crime Concern, the independent body who produced the Crime Audit. These were:

Drugs: Issues surrounding drugs were repeatedly identified. These included not only those offences which directly involved drugs but also those where drugs were seen to cause other crimes.

Alcohol-misuse: This is seen as an emerging problem in Warrington. It includes disorder in estates where under-age youths have access to alcohol as well as concerns over town centre safety at night.

Violent Crime: Although Warrington has relatively low levels - residents are a less likely to be assaulted in the town than the average in the North West - it recognised that any violence is too much violence.

Vehicle crime: The survey indicates slightly higher levels of vehicle crime in Warrington than elsewhere, and it was also a concern of many businesses.

Road safety: This was an issue the highest proportion of people were concerned about - especially speeding drivers. Road safety was a worry for 54 per cent of people.

Business crime: Much of the crime took place against a small number of businesses and stands in the way of economic prosperity. By tackling repeat victimisation it is possible to cut this.

Domestic burglary: Although burglary has halved in the last four years, the past shows that much higher levels of burglary could happen in the town which is why continued effort is needed to tackle the problem.

Youth issues: The survey found that residents were concerned about young people hanging around and lacking appropriate facilities.

Concerns about crime: Results showed that the concerns about crime are far higher than the actual levels of crime that exist.

Do you think that these issues are what the Community Safety Strategy should focus on? Have your say on the subject by filling in the coupon on this page and let the partnership know what should be prioritised to make Warrington a safer and crime-free place.

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