Representatives from action groups, the police and the education sector met on Tuesday to agree a crime report for Barnet as part of the ongoing community safety strategy.

For some, this was a familiar sight and there were those who would have remembered the first crime report commissioned in September 1997. That report, prepared by Crime Concern, was used as the basis for the development of a multi-agency community safety framework and was followed through with the Community Safety Strategy document in January last year.

The original report showed that, overall, crime in Barnet had declined by 6.5 per cent since 1994 and that the majority of crimes in Barnet were property related.

At Tuesday's meeting, managing consultant for Crime Concern, Sohail Husain, confirmed that crime in Barnet was not only low for London, but nationally too and that reported crime in the borough had gone down by ten per cent last year compared with the previous year. But he added that violent crime was relatively high and had gone up since the last report.

Mr Husain also stressed the need for more focused attention on young people aged 11 to 13.

Golders Green, Childs Hill and Hendon were cited as the worst areas for burglary and Colindale, East Finchley and Burnt Oak were said to have most incidences of criminal damage. But Chief Superintendent Simon Humphry said it was important to look at the overall picture. "It is important not to fall into the trap of only dealing with the reported crime." He added that it would be useful to separate road safety from other types of crime when looking at the data.

There will a chance for residents young and old to have their say in a public consultation community safety strategy conference in Hendon Town Hall on January 27 between 12.30pm and 5pm. For details call the council on 01800 731 0367.

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