Third Safest Place in the UK

And in a community safety survey undertaken by Ribble Valley Borough Council 93 per cent of respondents said they felt safe in the borough.

Government figures have revealed that 16 crimes for every 1,000 residents were recorded in Ribble Valley for 2009/10, the joint-third lowest in the country with Tynedale in Northumbria.

This is an improvement on 2007/08, when 19 crimes per 1,000 population were recorded, and 2008/09, when the figure was 18, making Ribble Valley the fifth safest place in the UK.  

The Ribble Valley Community Safety Partnership, a multi-agency organisation led by Ribble Valley Borough Council and Lancashire Constabulary, was tasked with reducing crime in the borough by 13.5 per cent within three years, when it was formed in 2005.

Since then it has maintained its position in the top five performing community safety partnerships in the UK and was last year praised by the Police and Crime Standards Directorate for performing "significantly above its peers."

Ribble Valley councillor Jan Alcock, who is the partnership's chairman, said: "All the agencies involved in the partnership are to be congratulated for their outstanding commitment to reducing crime in Ribble Valley.

"Thanks to some innovative work on a shoestring the partnership has contributed significantly to crime reduction in Ribble Valley over recent years."

Insp. Chris Saville, of Lancashire Constabulary, said: "These results are a testimony to the hard work of everyone in the partnership.

"Not only have levels of crime been reduced, but there has been a significant improvement in detection rates. Ribble Valley is now an even safer place in which to live and work."

Ribble Valley Borough Council's community safety survey revealed that 93 per cent of respondents felt safe in the local area on foot and 90 per cent felt safe in their car, compared to in neighbouring town centres, where 57 per cent said they felt unsafe.

Survey respondents said their main areas of concern were speeding vehicles (45 per cent) and dog-fouling (41 per cent). Seventy per cent said they wanted a zero-tolerance approach to anti-social behaviour and 65 per cent wanted a zero-tolerance approach to under-age drinking in public. 

The Ribble Valley Community Safety Partnership is responsible for developing a crime and disorder reduction strategy for the borough every three years outlining key priorities and a plan of action.

Pic cap: FIGHTING CRIME - From the left are Ribble Valley Borough Council's community development officer Bill Alker and partnership officer Mike Przybysz, Insp. Saville, Shaun Walton, service delivery manager for Clitheroe and Longridge Fire Stations, and Councillor Alcock.