'We will do better' (From Barry And District News)

'We will do better'

THE VALE council has promised "We will do better" after being told by experts that their community safety service wasn't up to scratch. Local people live in one of the safest areas of Britain, with crime levels falling.

But the Audit Commission say the problem with the council is that they don't know why.

Nor do they know fully how far the crime reduction strategy has contributed to this fall.

On a scale of 0-4, with 4 at the top, the inspectors have given the council a mere 1.

But on the bright side, they accept that the service is getting better, Positive issues include:

* The council has taken action to tackle the fear of crime.

* Crime has reduced by 30 percent over the past three years and still shows a downward trend.

But the report identified a number of significant weaknesses

* Graffiti is not being cleaned up unless part of a planned programme

* Some aspects of community safety legislation are not sufficiently understood throughout the council.

The inspectors felt the service is probably going to improve because there is evidence of closer working between the council and the police.

The inspectors recommended more consultation with the business community and analysis of the reasons for the fall in crime.

A council spokesman said: "The council is confident a great deal of progress will be made on community safety. Although it is dated January 2002, the inspection took place ten months ago. In that time significant progress has been made on addressing many of the issues."