THE draft copy of a plan to improve Warrington's law and order as the town moves into the new millennium has been published.

The Crime and Disorder Audit, prepared for the borough and Cheshire Police by Crime Concern, has put forward five key themes which the authors believe will help crack down on crime in the town.

It has come about after extensive consultation with residents and businesses to find out what they feel needs to be addressed.

The key themes are:

Reducing the fear of crime and developing a community-focus to crime and disorder reduction;

Empowering young people;

Addressing the issues of alcohol misuse and alcohol-related crime in Warrington;

Personal safety and tackling violence;

The prevention of vehicle crime.

Warrington Borough Council Chief Executive Steven Broomhead said: "We are not at a final stage yet, but we have had a very positive response from the people of Warrington.

"We surveyed one in 10 residents and had a 41 per cent response. We also had a 37 per cent response from the business community.

"We need to gather all that information together and go forward with a consultative document on the key areas of reducing crime and the fear of crime in Warrington.

"Compared with other towns, the incidence of crimes in Warrington is low but clearly there are issues, particularly alcohol misuse, violent crime, domestic burglary and drugs.

"The document will be out for consultation and we will be looking at the detail of the findings."

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