Public Reassurance

County Durham is a safe place to live and work. In 2004/05 the Durham Constabulary police force area had one of the lowest rates of recorded crime per head of population in England and Wales (80 crimes per 1000 population compared to 105 nationally).

Just as important as tackling and reducing crime and anti-social behaviour is taking measures to ensure that people feel safe when in their local neighbourhoods, towns or city centres and in their homes. Addressing communities concerns about crime and anti-social behaviour and increasing public reassurance have subsequently become key strategic priorities for Community Safety Partnerships and key agencies involved in these partnerships such as the County Council. We want to make County Durham safer in ways that meet the needs and concerns of all sections of the community and improve how we communicate.

Community Safety Survey

In 2004 a Community Safety Survey was carried out across County Durham and Darlington to ascertain residents' perceptions and feelings concerning community safety. 14,000 surveys were distributed across the County Durham and Darlington area. The survey achieved an excellent response rate of 37%.

The survey showed that:

• Eight in ten respondents were satisfied with their neighbourhood as a place to live.
• Crime, graffiti and vandalism, damage to buildings, poor public transport, poor housing and poor street lighting were not seen as a problem for the majority of respondents.
• The majority of respondents felt that they knew their neighbours, they trusted people in their neighbourhoods and felt that neighbours looked out for each other.
• A high proportion of respondents felt safe in their neighbourhood, homes and their local town/city centres during the day and in their homes at night. Slightly less, however, felt safe walking in their neighbourhoods and local town/city centres at night.
• The majority of respondents would be willing to get involved in their neighbourhood in some way to help reduce crime and anti-social behaviour. 80% had taken some form of action or changed their behaviour to avoid becoming a victim of crime.

View the report of the County Community Safety Survey: County Community Safety Survey Report.pdf (118 pages, 842kb). Read a summary of the research report.

StaySafe

The Community Safety team have produced a mini-guide 'StaySafe - Safety in Numbers and Words', which gives information on Durham County Council services and the work of partner agencies.

Alleygates

The Community Safety team have drawn up a guidance document in relation to Alleygates. Our Alleygating Guide contains all relevant information regarding the legal installation of alleygates at the entrance of public owned alleyways and provides all the necessary contact details for all appropriate groups.