Estate schemes saw crime fall

I mentioned before about the holiday activities in deprived areas of Oxford which Labour councillors got the city council to pay for this year. The report shows that as a result vandalism fell dramatically, down by more than 60% in one area, and 50% in another. As one local PC beat officer said, "We're really pleased about the impact this holiday scheme has had - we actively support schemes like this."

Getting these schemes set up and funded was one of the main things that I worked on as a councillor, so I'm delighted that they worked as well as they have, and that we put the money in the budget to expand the scheme in future years. Let's just hope that the Lib Dems (who voted against the holiday activities) don't decide to cut the funding now that they are in charge of the council.