Eastbourne

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District Commander's message: Chief Inspector Jayne Dando

As the end of another year draws ever closer, I wanted to highlight the good work that my teams have had acrossEastbourne, but to be honest there are too many. That being said in the last couple of weeks we have arrested 3 burglars. In one instance from the victim making the initial call to Police, to the suspect being  arrested, was under five minutes. This highlights great teamwork by the response officers, our dog handler colleagues and members of the public who have made that ever important call to us to start the ball rolling.

We currently have the largest crime reduction across the Force, almost 10%, that is 530 less victims than this time last year, a really significant figure I am sure you will agree. That reduction is spread across the crime types including theft from motor vehicles, criminal damage, violence in a public place and crimes of anti social behaviour. As I said at a meeting with the Eastbourne Community Safety Partnership the other day, this could not be achieved without the close relationships that exist with our partners. There is still much to do, and I feel strongly that there is the drive and determination to drive down crime further and make our communities feel safer.

One crime that we are seeing a rise in over the last couple of months is burglary of people's homes. This was a crime which was very rare inEastbourne, our average being less than 10 offences per month, with over 50,000 homes in the town that is a very low figure. We currently have a slight increase on that which unfortunately is not unusual for this time of year. The good news is that this week a male was arrested and charged with a burglary inEastbourne. He has been remanded in custody, which is good news to know that he will be in prison and not offending over the holiday season.

We have sent out lots of crime prevention tips which I will repeat here.With the dark evenings it is advisable to have a lamp on a timer, this gives the impression that someone is home. Again in the evening I often see people displaying their decorated Christmas trees by leaving their curtains open, but this also provides the burglar an opportunity look into your house. Please remember to check that your doors and windows are locked when you go to bed. You will be amazed how many burglaries, even during the winter, are through unlocked doors. When parking your car please consider what can be seen inside your car, we have had cars entered for wrapped Christmas presents.You can help us to make it as difficult as possible for those intent on committing crime.

This month we have welcomed the new Chair of the Eastbourne Neighbourhood Watch Association, Philip Hearn. We have had some great successes with this scheme in the Town and I know that Philip is keen to increase membership and bring more of you on board. So if you are keen to bring back that community spirit, reduce fear of crime, and maybe even reduce your home insurance premiums than contact Philip onwww.eastbournep.org and follow the link to Neighbourhood Watch.

Can I take this opportunity to wish all of you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year for 2012. If you are celebrating, stay safe and enjoy,

Chief Inspector Jayne Dando

District Commander