Town police promise a ‘proactive 2020’ as stats released showing ‘Wrexham is a safe place to live and work’

Police in Wrexham are aiming to make 2020 as successful as last year which saw crime fall by 7% and significant drops in burglary and violent offences across the county.

2019 was a busy year for local officers which began with the town centre team transferring temporarily to Crown Buildings after the former Headquarters closed and later to the modern purpose-built station at the Library site on LLwyn Isaf in the town centre.

As part of the drive to increase effective up to date methods of working, new shift patterns were introduced and officers were given mobile devices, such as tablets and laptops to complete administrative tasks in public places, without the need to return to the station to update force systems.

Police say this has resulted in a marked improvement in police visibility and time spent away from the station and in the community on proactive patrols.

In response to public concerns and as part of proactive initiatives to reduce crime and anti-social behaviour, the county saw 1136 stop searches since April with 320 offenders dealt with while there were almost 700 fewer victims of crime compared to 2018.

Residential burglary also fell by 27% and violence with injury was down 10% with 118 fewer victims than the previous year.

Wrexham County Chief Inspector, Mark Williams said; “We face many of the same issues that other parts of the country have to deal with, drug-related crime, anti-social behaviour and theft and there can sometimes be a perception that the level of crime witnessed in other parts of the country, especially serious violent crime is widespread.

“However, compared to many places in Britain, Wrexham is a safe place to live and work and levels of crime are relatively low.

“A good illustration between perception and reality was the build up to Christmas. The Friday before Christmas is often portrayed as ‘Mad Friday’ a night of drink-fuelled anti-social behaviour all over the country. However, in Wrexham it passed off peacefully in a festive atmosphere with the public genuinely pleased to see officers out patrolling and keeping the streets safe.

“We are never complacent and 2019 saw a range of initiatives, often involving partners in the public sector and business community, which have helped improve the night-time economy and drive down crime.

“With the public’s support and co-operation we aim to make 2020 even more successful.”

You can take part in a survey on the YourVoiceWrexham website until January 31st that asks you about your perceptions of Wrexham, how safe you feel in town and at home. (More on this here from yesterday!)