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PCSOs patrol Highbridge's Apex Park

POLICE in Burnham say they are winning the war on crime thanks to a greater trust between PCSOs and local people.

Latest figures released by Avon and Somerset Police show a huge drop in crimes in the Burnham area - which includes Highbridge and the surrounding villages - during the last year.

Offences fell from 2,736 in the financial year ending in March 2007, to 2,183 in February 2008, with crimes such as common assault, criminal damage and theft of motor vehicles all dipping below last year's number.

Reported crimes also decreased for nine consecutive months, from June last year to February this year, compared to the figures during the same period in 2006/2007.

In another blow to criminals, the percentage of crimes where legal sanctions were taken against the offender was up, from 24% to 27.4%.

Sgt Ian Kennet, from Burnham Police, hailed the work Burnham's seven PCSOs are doing in the community.

He told the Weekly News: "We are glad overall reported crime is decreasing in Burnham. We are working very hard with more PCSOs going into the community and working with residents.

"Officers are also putting a lot of effort into detecting crimes, and we are hopeful we can reduce the figures further."

Although Burnham has no more PCSOs than this time last year, Gill Udal, a PCSO on the Burnham beat, told the Weekly News their relationship with local people has grown stronger, helping to reduce crime figures.

She said: "I think it's a result of the trust we have built up within the community during the time PSCOs have been in the area. "We are working with them to make a real difference."

But Janet Keen, a councillor for Highbridge ward, urged caution against the findings.

She said: "In order to have effective policing you need fully trained and operational officers. PCSOs are very restricted, tend to be very young and I'm not sure their training is as thorough.

"If I had my way I'd rather use the budget for PCSOs to have proper officers."

Cllr Keen also said she had some reservations about how the crime figures were arrived at, given the number of unreported crimes in the area.

5:42pm Tuesday 13th May 2008

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