Survey shows one in five are victim of crime
Residents responses reveal that a popular Stockport suburb is now plagued by burglaries and anti-social behaviour
A SHOCKING one in five people who responded to a survey in Hazel Grove have fallen victim to crime in the past year.
The survey has had more than 1,000 responses, making it one of the largest in Greater Manchester, and was carried out by Liberal Democrat councillor Lisa Smart. In the wake of the results she has raised concerns over levels of criminality in the area, as well as the number of crimes that are not reported to the police because people struggle to get through to the non-emergency line.
Councillor Smart said: “Whilst this is a great area in which to live, it’s clear from the responses that there are huge issues with anti-social behaviour and burglary in particular.”
ASHOCKING one in five people who responded to a crime survey in Hazel Grove have fallen victim to crime in the past year.
The survey has had over 1,000 responses, making it one of the largest in Greater Manchester and was carried out by Liberal Democrat councillor Lisa Smart.
In the wake of the results she has raised concerns over levels of criminality in the area, as well as the number of crimes that are not reported to the police because people struggle to get through to the nonemergency line.
Councillor Smart said: “Whilst this is a great area in which to live, it’s clear from the responses that there are huge issues with anti-social behaviour and burglary in particular.
“I’m particularly worried that many residents didn’t end up reporting crimes to the police as they found it just too difficult to get through to the 101 number.”
Coun Smart has called on Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham to ‘urgently increase the resources for the 101 service to make it easier for residents to report crime.’
“The more information the police have, the better chance they have of stopping the culprits and ending the misery that this is causing to local people,” she added.
Beverley Hughes, deputy mayor for policing and crime, says they are ‘working on opening up new channels which cater to the needs of the people of Greater Manchester.’
These include developments to police contact points, a new lost and found online reporting service, developments to the website and the trial of an online live chat function.
She said: “GMP received 1.5 million calls in the year leading up to July 2017 and we must continue to prioritise our resources to those most in need of immediate assistance.
“The majority of 999 calls are answered within 13 seconds and calls to 101 are answered in just over three minutes on average.
“Many calls to 101 are not, in fact, police related and this is something that is challenging when looking at the current demand on the 101 service.”
She added that, following an increase to the police precept, GMP ‘will be asked to accelerate improvements to the 101 number.’
The survey showed 92 per cent of Hazel Grove residents do not see enough police officers on patrol; 70pc are dissatisfied with the level of police visibility; 19pc have been victims of crime in the past year; 60pc know of anti-social behaviour ‘hotspots’ in their area and 42pc don’t feel safe in their area at night.
In July last year a gunman held up the Aldi store on Commercial Road; in August thieves posing a roof workers stole £1,000 from a 74-year-old woman on Hope Street and in September there was a series of arson attacks on Victoria Avenue and Queen’s Road.
GMP Chief Inspector Yvette Sanders said they are ‘committed to developing our work across Hazel Grove and the wider Stockport area.’
“The Stockport Burglary Unit is dedicated to tackling the issue and has seen offenders brought to justice across the area,” she said. “In addition, well known hotspots for anti-social behaviour are patrolled on a regular basis.
“We remain committed to keeping people safe and would like to reiterate the importance of reporting issues to us on 101 or 999 in an emergency.”
To find out more or take part in the survey visit lisasmart.org.uk/crimesurvey.