I’ve mentioned before in my messages how safe an area Mid Sussex is; I regularly receive information on how we compare to similar areas elsewhere in the country (based on rural/urban mix, deprivation etc) and was pleased to see that for overall crime Mid Sussex has the lowest level of crimes per person of all 15 of these areas – and this is comparing ourselves to places like the New Forest, Surrey Heath and Aylesbury Vale. In fact we are the lowest or amongst the lowest crime risk for the majority of specific crime types, including violent crime and burglaries of people’s houses.

I mention this because sometimes the reality of how safe an area Mid Sussex is can be forgotten and people start to feel worried; in fact recorded crime in Mid Sussex has fallen by about a third over the last 5 years, and is falling again this year.

Of course we still need to work to reduce crime and help local people feel safer; this isn’t something the police can do alone, and as well as working with our partner agencies like local councils and West Sussex Fire & Rescue Service I would like to encourage you to get involved – further below I set out a few ways you can do this.

We also do our best to detect the crimes that do occur, focusing on those where there are realistic lines of enquiry, and we often see successes stemming from this.

Earlier this year for instance a car was stolen during a test-drive. After driving the car, the offender stopped at a local petrol station, got out, and walked round to the passenger’s seat; the owner took longer to walk back round to the driver’s side and as he did so the offender locked the doors, slid over into the drivers seat and made off – an easy mistake to make, and the lesson is; when selling a car never leave the keys in the vehicle when you are out of the car, even for a moment.

Following a thorough investigation, other similar offences in other areas were identified, and recently two males pleaded guilty at Winchester Crown Court to conspiracy to steal motor vehicles and other offences, and were sentenced to 3 years 6 months, and 5 years 3 months respectively.

There are a few other things I would like to mention:

Halloween and Bonfire Night

This week and next for instance we are running an operation to make sure that everyone in Mid Sussex can enjoy a safe, fun and peaceful Halloween and Bonfire period. As part of a partnership operation called Op Respect we are putting extra officers on patrol on the streets to prevent anti-social behaviour and tackle any that does occur. If you have children who go trick-or-treating please make sure they are properly supervised, and that they don’t call at houses displaying "Sorry No Trick Or Treat" signs.

We will also be working with the organisers of some of the large local bonfire displays to make sure they go with a bang… in the right way.

Careful driving

You will have noticed the nights really drawing in, and with damp leaves on the road driving can be quite tricky. Please take time to make sure your car is well maintained and that you look after yourself, your passengers and others on the road. If you see others driving anti-socially (or if you see abandoned vehicles), you can report it on our Operation Crackdown website (www.operationcrackdown.org/) and we will do something about it.

Regards

Chief Inspector Edward De La Rue, District Commander
edward.de-la-rue@sussex.pnn.police.uk

Your Local Inspectors:

East Grinstead
Inspector Paul Scott
paul.scott@sussex.pnn.police.uk

Haywards Heath & Burgess Hill
Inspector Paul Tomlinson
paul.tomlinson@sussex.pnn.police.uk

Getting involved

Want to help keep Mid Sussex safe? There are a range of things you can do:

• Report any suspicious or worrying incidents as soon as possible, either direct to us or anonymously through Crime Stoppers;
• Take sensible steps to reduce your risk of becoming a victim of crime;
• Participate in your local Neighbourhood Panel – these exist so that local people can tell us directly what they want us to focus on in their area, then hear what we have done about them;
• Give some of your time to helping your local community as a Police Support Volunteer;
• Join Neighbourhood Watch – if there isn’t a watch scheme in your area why not start one?

To find out more about these possibilities contact your local PCSOs or look on our website.