THERE has been a “significant reduction” in crime figures in Fairford over the last 12 months, according to Cotswold Police.

Speaking at the town’s annual general meeting last night (May 26) PC Stewart Liddle-Peters, beat manager for Fairford and Lechlade, said reported crime in the market town had reduced by 22 per cent and it is “one of the few parishes which has seen such a significant reduction” over the last year.

“Overall the crime figures I would say for Fairford are very good,” said PS Liddle-Peters, addressing members of the public and town councillors, including mayor Jennie Sanford at the meeting at the community centre. “Overall, reported crime during the last 12 months has seen a 22 per cent reduction, most notably violent crime is down 47 per cent.”

Assault with injury, which he described as “the most damning crime, and involves an injured party” is down 62 per cent on last year, he revealed, while burglary, theft and criminal damage have also seen significant reductions.

The one type of offence which has seen a “slight increase” was that involving drugs, according to PC Liddle-Peters, though this is something which while “obviously a cause for concern” is being “dealt with” by police.

“Of the possession of drugs offences, apart from one, all of those have been detected, so what that shows us is that people have been arrested or an offence has been brought to justice whether that is a conviction, a caution or a type of youth threat order.

“The increase in drugs offences is obviously a bit of a cause for concern,” he continued, “but we do look at where those offences are taking place and provide some reassurance and high-visibility policing with regards to those areas.

“It’s obviously something we’re trying to reduce, obviously we know from experience, drugs are often linked to other offences, including anti-social behaviour and other crime types. It’s not significantly high but we’ve dealt with those small offences we’ve come across.”