A councillor has said she doesn’t feel safe in Watford.
Vicarage councillor Sara Jane Trebar has told her borough council colleagues “ignoring” antisocial behaviour will not make it go away.
During a debate about police resources in Watford, the Labour councillor backed calls for a more visible police presence which she said would help improve her community’s perceptions of crime.
“I walk every day from Bushey right the way through central Watford to West Watford,” Cllr Trebar said.
“There has been beautiful sunshine recently and unfortunately, there has been visible antisocial behaviour happening in St Mary’s Park, on the street, everywhere around you can see it.
“You have to open your eyes here because it’s happening all around us and ignoring it is not going to make it go away.”
She added: “I can tell you outright that I don’t feel safe in Watford.
“Unfortunately, you don’t see the police – the PCSOs – walking around.
“It’s not because they’re not doing their jobs – they are doing their jobs and they’re doing them really well – but there just aren’t enough of them.
“We need more visible police on the street – that’s the way to stop it.”
According to police.uk data, Hertfordshire Constabulary logged 1,437 reports of antisocial behaviour between December 2022 and May 2023.
Home Office figures show a drop in the number of PCSOs, or police community support officers, in Hertfordshire – from 203 at the end of September 2017 to 173 at the end of September 2022.
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The motion debated by Watford Borough Council was put forward by the Labour Group and backed by Liberal Democrat councillors.
Lib Dem councillor Aga Dychton, who is responsible for “community” in the town, said the borough council has invested in mental health and youth education programmes.
“These measures are designed to target the root cause of antisocial behaviour, curbing it before it escalates into crime,” Cllr Dychton said.
“By strengthening our connection and visibility by working with our chief inspector Andy Wiseman we contribute to a safer, healthier Watford for everyone.”
Cllr Dychton said residents should report crime to police on 101.
The motion calls on Peter Taylor, directly elected Mayor of Watford, to write to home secretary Suella Braverman and Hertfordshire’s police and crime commissioner David Lloyd calling for more resources to combat crime.
“One crime is one crime too many,” the mayor said.
“When I spoke to the chief inspector of Watford police, one of the things he highlighted was the detection rate in Watford [when at least one suspect is sanctioned] is six per cent higher than it was last year.
“This is a sign of progress, but I am very happy to raise this with the home secretary and the police and crime commissioner.”
After the council passed the motion, police and crime commissioner David Lloyd told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “Looking at the figures for all crimes, there has been a consistent reduction in Watford since February 2023.
“For several years, I have continued to increase investment and funding for the constabulary and Hertfordshire now has more officers than at any time in its history, and Watford will have benefited from this increase in officer numbers.”
Mr Lloyd added: “Keeping people safe and reducing anti-social behaviour requires joint partnership working between the police and other stakeholders including local councils, housing associations and the criminal justice system.
“Watford Borough Council take the lead on environmental crimes such as fly tipping, noise and nuisance complaints which form a large part of anti-social behaviour complaints.
“I am glad they are taking this matter seriously and look forward to any additional funding they are also going to put in place to improve the feeling of safety for residents.
“There have been discussions for some time about the funding of safety wardens to also patrol the streets but this has not yet come to fruition.”
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