Police act to restore residents’ confidence

The discussions, which will involve local police commanders and members of the police authority, will be carried out in September with residents in the Walton Street area of Hull, Scartho in Grimsby, and around Fleetgate in Barton.

The initiative is in response to a postal survey to measure public confidence in the force.

Humberside Police Authority, which is leading the initiative, is also promoting the use of the online crime-mapping website as it prepares for the introduction of police and crime commissioners next year, and the maps are also being studied to see how closely a lack of confidence is linked to the levels of crime in a particular area.

Authority chairman Ros Taylor said: “The extent to which this project succeeds will be measurable immediately by the numbers of people using the mapping system and online beat meetings and we can compare those figures with the numbers of people who used the more traditional methods of public meetings.

“In the longer term the ultimate measure of success will be that confidence in the police to tackle local crime and disorder issues increases.

“We have not set any targets for the numbers of people who we want to engage. Realistically, we know the initial take up may be small but we believe that as people find the maps and meetings useful and interesting they will tell friends and neighbours who will then log on themselves. Finally, we know there are people who don’t use the internet and we will continue to try and use engagement tactics that suit their requirements.”

The maps allow residents to find out what type of crimes have been committed, how many and where.