Results of the Reading Community Safety Survey

DRUGS and parking issues were among the issues of most concern to residents who responded to the latest Reading Community Safety Survey.

Almost 800 people took part in the online survey run by the Council’s Neighbourhoods Initiatives Team. The results will now be fed back to Safer Neighbourhoods Forums (SNF) around the borough and action plans will be agreed to tackle the issues of most concern. The top priorities identified in the survey were drugs, parking issues, potholes, burglary and speeding. Survey results also showed that 42 per cent of the 780 respondents believed levels of crime had increased in the last two years, compared with 34 per cent in the last survey in 2017. However, Police figures demonstrate a seven per cent fall in crime across the town. Crime statistics also state that burglary is down by 13 per cent in Reading and possession of drugs is down 10 per cent. Members of the SFN’s, made up of representatives of the Council and Police and local residents, will decide the priorities for their areas based on the safety survey and official crime figures. Issues such as parking and potholes will be referred to the Council’s traffic management and highways teams. The Council is proposing a £9m investment programme in the borough’s roads over the next three years which will include a purge on potholes.

Cllr Sophia James, Lead Councillor for Neighbourhoods and Communities, said:

“We will continue to work closely with the police within our local neighbourhoods and create action plans through the Safer Neighbourhood Forums to address some of the local concerns. “In the last two years local residents have been very active following the last survey with a number of neighbourhood clean-ups, community speedwatch activities taking place in the Caversham and West Reading areas, and in Southcote a number of youth activities were put in place to divert young people away from anti-social behaviour.” More information about the SNFs and how to get involved is available by contacting the Neighbourhood Initiatives Team at e-mail: neighbourhoodinitiatives@reading.gov.uk.