Chief Superintendent TIM MADGWICK, commander of York Police, sees a York which is safe for all residents.

YORK is a relatively safe city, but residents still have a right to live in an even safer environment.

Robbery and serious assaults are very low, but we are experiencing too high a level of less serious assaults, scuffling, and that leads to a general impression of rowdy behaviour and general yobbery.

We have an issue with antisocial young people, but in the city centre, it is antisocial adults, not antisocial children.

We are driving down crime, particularly burglary and auto crime. We need to have an even bigger impact on drugs and violence, as these have a major influence on the quality of people's lives. We want people to be confident about the difference they can make, so they feel proud of coming from York.

In areas where people have got involved, at a community level, we have seen the problems can be tackled. The task force groups set up by the Safer York Partnership are an excellent example of this.

It is often said that police are responsible for stopping crime. But to prevent crime we need everyone to accept their individual responsibilities. We will investigate crime and narrow the justice gap so more offenders are successfully prosecuted. We currently have the highest detection rate that the City has seen in recent years and we are committed to improving on this even further.

If people are prepared to stand up, then these problems are resolvable, can be tackled and we can all work to reduce crime.

There is no acceptable level of crime. We must drive it down to its roots - the vision can help us do that. It is realistic and it can work.

We are lucky in that we have not got the underlying problems experienced by some big cities. There are few issues of gun crime, organised crime or the other types of crime that it is very hard for the local community to impact upon.

Everything is possible in York. That's what is exciting about the vision. We can do it, we can achieve what we want.

We have some excellent people in York, in the police, in our local partners and in the community. Right across the board, people want to make a difference.

We have to make sure we take a co-ordinated approach to tackling the most important issues. There is still a culture of leave it to the police and they will come and sort it out,. We cannot achieve change just on that basis.

We must develop a culture of individual responsibility . It is a community process. We have to engage them and instil a sense and a confidence that everyone in the community is valued.

We are building a vision for the next 20 years and, although some of the initiatives we are taking will be brought in during the next 12 to 24 months, their impact will be seen in ten to 15 years' time.

We need to be working with children at a pre-school level. They are the future of York. If we all work together, we can make York a safer place.

We have some tremendous opportunities and, we need to seize them now to build a safer community for the future.

What's the aim?

To make York a safe city with a low crime rate.

What issues do we face?

Drug and alcohol misuse contribute significantly to offending in the city

Levels of burglary are higher than other similar cities

Offences carried out by young women may be increasing

Proportion of young offenders involved in theft and handling stolen goods is above the national average

75 per cent of residents say they are concerned about theft from their homes

Crime has a detrimental effect in York regardless of age

What can we do?

Ensure homes are less vulnerable to break-ins

Encourage residents to look out for their neighbours

Educate to promote a sense of social responsibility

Eliminate or reduce drug and alcohol misuse in the city

To reduce the levels of anti-social behaviour in our neighbourhoods

Work to provide a range of positive social activities for young adults

What will we do?

The vision will see the formation of multi-agency and community task groups who will develop plans to tackle specific crime and disorder priorities in every ward.

Strong education and guidance programmes will be brought into schools to ward youngsters away from the dangers of drugs.

The different needs of York residents will be met through a readily accessible and consistent drugs service.

In tackling crime, we will work in partnership with other agencies to identify and fit security measures to homes that are vulnerable to break-ins.

We will encourage individuals and communities to participate in community safety activities so that all York residents can prosper in safety and harmony. This will be achieved through expansion of neighbourhood and community watch schemes.

We will also achieve secure car park status for all public car parks in the city and provide monitored CCTV throughout the city centre.

Success would be represented in the percentage of surveyed residents who said they felt safe in York and in the levels of crime in the city compared with similar areas.

Updated: 12:25 Thursday, July 22, 2004