Crime tops Barnet residents' list of concerns in the borough (From Times Series)

Crime tops Barnet residents' list of concerns in the borough

1:52pm Wednesday 13th February 2013 in News By Natalie O'Neill

Crime, the condition of roads and pavements, and the level of council tax are Barnet residents’ top three concerns, according to a recent report.

The Barnet Residents’ Perception Survey questioned 1,600 people living in the borough, 31 per cent of which are worried about crime in the area.

Thirty-two per cent do not feel safe after dark and 23 per cent say there is a problem with people using or dealing drugs.

Chief Superintendent Adrian Usher said: "We are aware of the Barnet public’s concern about crime and are working hard to utilise all the resources at our disposal to reduce it.

“At the same time we are trying to ensure that those who do fall victim to crime receive the best possible service, coupled with good advice that will reassure them and prevent them falling victim again.

“Barnet borough does face challenges particularly with the crime of burglary, but we would ask people to turn their concern into positive action by looking out for each other and calling police the moment they see something suspicious.”

The survey also reveals residents are more concerned with traffic congestion, litter and dirty streets, and the lack of affordable housing compared to 2010 when the survey was last carried out.

Despite this, 88 per cent of people taking part in the survey said they were satisfied with their local area as a place to live – a two per cent increase on the previous survey.

Despite Barnet Borough Council making £42m savings over the last three years, 72 per cent of residents say the council is doing a good job, offering value for money (55 per cent) and improving their area (60 per cent).

Council Leader Councillor Richard Cornelius said: “Barnet has chosen to cut the cost of administration rather than reduce services. Residents seem to like this and share our concerns at the levels of council tax.

“We have reflected our residents’ concerns about the level of council tax by taking the decision not to increase it for the fourth year running.

“Of course there are always areas for improvement and we’ll be looking at the results closely.This consultation helps to inform our plans and last year we spent an extra £4.5m on roads and pavements and supporting younger residents not in employment, education or training in response to a previous perception survey.”

The council commissioned ORS, an independent market research company, to conduct the survey with a cross section of Barnet's population.