Rural crime down during festive period say police

Dec 24 2009 by Naomi Dunning, Chester Chronicle

THE economic downturn has seen a decrease in crime across rural villages.

Police say crime rates in rural areas has been lower during November and December than in previous years.

And Cheshire Police’s Western Rural Inspector Phil Hodgson has put this down to the effects of the recession.

He added: “Crime is low for this time of year. We have seen a drop in most crimes. Vandalism, criminal damage and anti-social behavour.

“The only crime that is on the up is burglary and we believe that is due to the travelling criminal fraternity rather than local criminals.

“I think everybody is watching their pennies and being much more picky about whether they go out or not. People are not going out and drinking too much and causing trouble.”

Insp Hodgson says police will be tackling the festive period with even more officers. He said: “We have been more flexible with our hours so we have got more officers out over Christmas.

“We have already had officers visiting pubs and speaking to landlords about drink-driving. We are asking them to keep an eye out for those who might consider driving when they have had too much. We have also been speaking to people organising parties.”

Police have already made a number of drink-driving arrests.