Crime in the Village

Last week, two bicycles were stolen from a back garden in the middle of the village during the day. This must have been extremely disconcerting and very troubling for the victims.
It is also a timely reminder to all of us to take care. In these warm and sunny days it is easy to leave windows and doors open. It takes just a minute or two for an opportunistic thief to strike. I try and remember to lock the back door when I am upstairs on the computer, but I am sure that I do not do it always. I obviously won't say here where I normally keep my handbag!
It is easy to be worried by crime and indeed the fear of crime often causes more concern than crime itself. The national news tells us that the crime rate is falling, yet the papers are often full of scary stories.
Should we be worried in Tarvin?
A fascinating police uk website now gives information on crime around any area you select. Go onto the website and search for Tarvin. In June within a mile radius, there were 8 reported incidents, following 5 in May and 11 in April. Almost all of these were incidents of anti-social behavior, though one crime in April was categorised as 'violent'. Incidents are even reported down to the detail of street level. Unfortunately – or perhaps fortunately – it does not give specific details, so it is not possible to determine the difference between an anti – social behavoir incident that is a serious fracas or a blooming nuisance. It is also possible to compare crime rates between areas.
I have not done an in depth study of these statistics (perhaps someone might like to do that) but the reality is that we are NOT a hot bed of crime and that we can sleep easy in our beds. With a bit of common sense and care, residents of Tarvin may well go through their lives without ever being a victim of local crime. We have regular updates from our local police team which give sound advice about looking after yourselves and your property.
For all crimes that are not urgent do call the non-emergency number 101. If you have information about crime, you can also call Crimestoppersanonymously and report it. Crimestoppers is an independent charity that helps to find criminals and solve crimes.
If you have more issues then PC Steve Trow can be found at the Community Centre on a regular basis.