Crime maps chart an upward trend

CRIME maps were unveiled at the beginning of the year to keep residents informed — and the latest update already shows crime on the up in Oldham. Richard Hooton looks at the new figures and which crimes you are more likely to fall victim to in your neighbourhood.

FRESH figures revealed on Greater Manchester Police’s new crime map show a worrying rise in offences across Oldham during January.

Apart from theft from a person — which stayed the same on 19 — every category of crime saw an increase between those recorded in December and those recorded in January.

The number of dwelling burglaries rose from 142 to 160, robberies went up from 39 to 46, thefts from vehicles increase from 195 to 198, thefts of vehicles rose sharply from 64 to 96 and violence against the person went from 200 to 313.

The number of crimes in Greater Manchester for January are given as 2,360 dwelling burglaries, 531 robberies, 386 thefts from person, 2,270 thefts from vehicles, 914 thefts of vehicles and 3,526 cases of violence against the person.

All 43 forces across England and Wales are publishing the internet maps to give residents detailed information at their fingertips just by logging on to their local force’s website.

They have courted controversy with supporters hailing them for empowering communities but critics warning they could even help criminals.

They are part of Government attempts to allow residents more influence over police priorities, with Police Minister Vernon Coker saying he hoped they would help make the police more accountable.

The information supplied varies greatly from force to force with some, such as West Yorkshire, giving statistics right down to the street they occurred on, while others, such as Greater Manchester, just supply them for a district.

As well as an array of graphs for each area, useful information is given to help residents — such as a list of constables and PCSOs for each neighbourhood and a message from the area inspector.

The facility on Greater Manchester’s site is currently just a prototype version with the launch of an official site due soon. Feedback from residents will be used to determine its final look.

The maps break down the number of offences per division to show which are the hotspots for different type of crime.

A glitch in collecting the figures means Oldham East and Oldham town centre still have no figures available, and they are likely to have the worst statistics in Oldham.

In their absence, Oldham West takes that tag with the worst crime in almost every category.

Excluding Oldham West, you are most likely to have your house burgled, be robbed, and suffer a violent act if you live in Failsworth.

If you live in Royton or Shaw you are more likely to suffer the theft of a vehicle or having something stolen from your vehicle.

IN Chadderton, dwelling burglaries up from 18 to 21; robberies up from one to five; thefts from the person stayed the same at one; thefts from vehicles up from 31 to 36,; thefts of vehicles increased from nine to ten and violence against the person from 26 to 29.

ACTION: Police chiefs say they are using a number of tactics. Extra patrols are in place to tackle the rise in burglaries and officers are targeting known offenders.

IN Royton and Shaw, dwelling burglaries up from 21 to 23, robberies down from five to four; theft from a person stayed the same with two; theft from vehicles dropped from 44 to 41; theft of a vehicle fell from 19 to 13 and violence against the person dipped from 31 to 30.

ACTION: Shaw and Royton police say overall crime has come down from 265 to 233 incidents and resources are being put into reducing burglaries as well.

IN Saddleworth and Lees dwelling burglaries up from 20 to 24; robberies were up from none to one; theft from a person, same with one; theft from a vehicle was slashed from 23 to 14; theft of a vehicle up from six to 13 and violence against the person up from 13 to 19.

ACTION: Burglary and vehicle crime is the biggest concern. Police are urging residents to keep properties secure and take care while defrosting cars.

IN Saddleworth and Lees dwelling burglaries up from 20 to 24; robberies were up from none to one; theft from a person, same with one; theft from a vehicle was slashed from 23 to 14; theft of a vehicle up from six to 13 and violence against the person up from 13 to 19.

ACTION: Burglary and vehicle crime is the biggest concern. Police are urging residents to keep properties secure and take care while defrosting cars.

IN Oldham West, dwelling burglaries down from 28 to 26; robberies up from 12 to 17; theft from a person up from none to one; theft from a vehicle rose from 35 to 45; theft of a vehicle more than doubled from 13 to 30; violence against a person almost doubled from 41 to 81.

ACTION: Police are urging people to keep their homes secure and valuable out of sight to increase the drop-in burglaries.

IN Failsworth, dwelling burglaries up from 30 to 36; robberies down from seven to four; thefts from a person rose from none to two, thefts from vehicles up from 22 to 24; thefts of vehicles up from seven to 10 and violence against the person increased from 26 to 29.

ACTION: Failsworth police have helped launch Operation Queensland to target criminals and drive down burglary and vehicle crime. Extra patrols are in place.

Communities offered reassurance

Chief inspector Sarah Jones offered reassurance to communities hit by a rise in crime.

She said: “We have a number of operations and initiative in place across the borough to bring crime down and provide reassurance to the public.

“We usually anticipate a rise in burglary after the Christmas period as people have more valuables in their homes.

“We are currently running Operation Resolute to tackle burglary, vehicle crime and robbery that involves increased patrols, targeting known offenders and offering crime prevention advice to the public.

“This operation has proved very successful so far with burglaries reduced by 29.9 per cent between January 4 to February 1 compared with the same period last year. The neighbourhood policing teams are working hard to make their communities safer and officers are always on hand to engage with the public and deal with any issues they may have.”