VISIBILITY of police officers was the main concern highlighted by South Worcestershire residents during the recent crime survey.
That was just one of the findings from a year-long survey into the forces of law and order carried out by West Mercia Police.
A representative sample of 3,000 West Mercia residents were interviewed over a 12 month period which highlighted the following results for the south of the county.
Only 28 per cent of people said they had seen a police officer or PCSO at least once a week and there were 42 per cent who said they feel fairly or very informed about West Mercia Police were doing.
Other results were more encouraging for the force.
A total of 86 per cent said they were fairly or very confident they would receive a good service if they were to report a crime and 85 per cent tended to agree or strongly agreed they had confidence in West Mercia Police.
In response to the South Worcestershire results, Police and Crime Commissioner John Campion said: “Across 2019/20 and 2020/21 there will be an additional 308 officer across West Mercia, some of which have already been deployed into local policing teams whilst others are set to be deployed in the coming months. “
“In my role as Commissioner I am committed to ensuring the voices of local communities are heard and their concerns are acted upon.
“These results provide a vital indication of where resources and services are working well within South Worcestershire and, whilst it is pleasing to see people feel better informed by West Mercia police, the results also highlight where more development is needed.”
Chief Constable Anthony Bangham added: “The results of this quarter’s survey are very reassuring and we welcome the fact that the majority of our communities across West Mercia are saying they have confidence in their local police.
“However, there is no place for complacency and we remain focused on further improving the service for the residents of South Worcestershire.
“We know there is much more we can do, and there are certainly areas of our service delivery we can improve upon.
“We now look forward to welcoming even more officers to be deployed across the three counties over the coming months to help us become even stronger.
“Policing is about keeping people safe and overall we have achieved some very positive results.
“Keeping people safe in their homes, communities and on the roads remain our priorities.
“Together with the Police and Crime Commissioner and our community partners, we will keep working hard to provide all communities in West Mercia with a level of service they both expect and deserve.”
Thousands of people across the force area were interviewed over a 12 month period for the survey.
