Citizens' Panel Newsletter Winter 2004/2005
Citizens' Panel
Winter 2004/2005
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Welcome to the latest edition of the Citizens’ Panel newsletter. This edition will focus on the key findings from the last questionnaire, which focused on the following topics: Crime and disorder, Road safety, Carers’ Centre, Cemeteries and Dukinfield crematorium, and Dental services. We’ll also update you on how the Marketing and Communications Unit has used the Panel to improve their service.
In this newsletter:
Crime and Disorder
In an effort to reduce crime and disorder across the Borough, the Council and its partners are about to publish its latest three-year Crime and Disorder Reduction Strategy, and we wanted to know about your experiences and concerns.
The crime experienced most often by respondents is having their car stolen, damaged or something taken from it, (46% of respondents have experienced this in the past 3 years) and close to one in five (19%) say it has happened to them on more than one occasion in that time. One in five respondents have been a victim of domestic burglary, though only a small proportion (4%) have been a victim more than once.
Of people who had been a victim of crime, 65% reported the incident to the Police, and 22% reported it to friends and family. Of those who did report being a victim of crime, half they were either very or fairly satisfied with the way their report was dealt with . However 21% of respondents who have been a victim of crime did not report the incident.
Worries About Crime and Anti-Social Behaviour
In line with the actual experience of crime, Panel members worry about having their car stolen, damaged or something being taken from it. One third of respondents also worry a lot about being a victim of domestic burglary or a victim of street robbery/mugging.
One of the key priorities for Tameside MBC is to tackle anti-social behaviour to improve the quality of life for Tameside residents. We wanted to know what kind of anti social behaviour panel members have experienced in last 3 years.
'Dog fouling' is the most common problem witnessed by respondents, followed closely by 'gangs of people on the streets' (91% and 87% respectively say they have witnessed these behaviours).
More than half of respondents are very worried about gangs of people on the street (54% say it worries them a lot and a further 37% are worried a little) and this is perhaps unsurprising given that 87% of respondents have witnessed this type of anti-social behaviour.
One of the key things we measure is how safe people feel in their local neighbourhood. 86% of respondents say they feel very safe or fairly safe whilst out of their neighbourhood during the day. However, this figure falls to 42% after dark.
There is a similar pattern when looking at safety in town centres and travelling on public transport. 83% of respondents feel very safe or fairly safe when travelling on public transport or taxis during the day, however only 5% feel very safe and 22% feel fairly safe after dark.
It is worth noting that Tameside is becoming an increasingly safe place to live. Offences of robbery are down by 24% and burglary is down by 47.7%. Also the Government has recognised the excellent partnership working in Tameside and the considerable reductions in crime by no longer classing Tameside as high-crime area.
We Wanted to Know How Effective You Thought Some of Our Crime Reduction Initiatives Were
The most effective crime reduction measures according to Panel members are:
- Improving street lighting (86% said this measure is very effective or fairly effective)
- Security cameras/CCTV in town centres/crime hotspots (82%)
- Alley Gating (82%)
This question was also asked in a previous Panel survey conducted in October 2003, and encouragingly, each measure is now perceived to be more effective than a year ago.
Dental Services
One of the council's scrutiny panels recently began a review looking at the provision of NHS dental services in Tameside and they wanted Panel members to help with the review by letting them know about their experiences.
Just over two-thirds (69%) of respondents say that they are registered with a dentist as an NHS patient compared with one in ten (11%) who are registered as a private patient.
Nearly one in five respondents (18%) say they are not registered with a dentist at all, mainly because they only choose to get treatment when they need it. However one in five non-registered people say they are unable to locate a dental surgery willing to take new patients.
Scrutiny wanted to know why patients registered with a private dentist as opposed to an NHS dentist. The main reason respondents give is that their dentist has stopped providing NHS cover (62%).
Interestingly those who go for private dental treatment tend to find it more difficult to get an appointment than NHS dental patients (78% of NHS patients find it easy compared to 57% of private patients). Respondents living in Ashton Hurst and Ashton Waterloo, Droylsden East and West, Hyde Godley and Hyde Newton, and St Peters and Longdendale find it most difficult to make an appointment with their dentist.
Lastly all respondents were asked how satisfied or dissatisfied they are with the availability of NHS dental services in Tameside. 46% of respondents were very satisfied or quite satisfied with the availability of NHS dental services.
Road Safety
One of the key priorities for the council is to reduce the number of people killed on Tameside's roads, and so we wanted to know about road safety in your local area.
Panel members are most concerned with the safety of children when out on the streets near to their home and the danger that speeding traffic and parked cars pose to children. Three-quarters of respondents (74%) do not think that there are enough safe places for children to play, three in five (61%) agree that cars parked in the street bring added danger to children, and almost three in five (56%) believe that young children cannot play safely outside their home.
Few respondents have been involved in road accidents themselves but half (53%) have witnessed one or more. A significant proportion have been involved in 'near misses' (40%) and two-thirds of respondents (66%) have witnessed them. Three-quarters of respondents agree that they regularly see road safety messages about the danger of speeding vehicles.
Cemeteries and Dukinfield Crematorium
Whilst it is often difficult to discuss attendance at cemeteries, it is important that the council is able to offer the best possible service at a time when it is often needed the most.
We wanted to know if you had visited a cemetery of Dukinfield Crematorium in the last 12 months. The highest proportion of respondents visited Dukinfield Cemetery and Crematorium (22% and 40% respectively have visited these), with 7% of respondents visiting Hyde and Denton Cemeteries.
Almost two in five (38%) respondents have not visited any cemetery or Dukinfield Crematorium in the past 12 months.
The main reason for visiting a cemetery/crematorium is to attend a funeral or visit a grave.
A significant proportion of respondents also go to Dukinfield to visit a memorial plaque or remembrance book.
Panel Update
In the December 2003 survey, we asked you how well you thought the Council keeps residents informed about its services and what it does.
- Half of respondents told us that they had not seen a copy of the What’s On magazine.
We have now doubled the print run for the What’s On magazine, increasing circulation from 10,000 to 20,000 copies.
Each issue offers people the option to have the magazine mailed directly to their home and we get more requests after each edition.
- 35% of respondents said they had not attended an event or taken part in an activity as a result of reading “What’s On?”
We have encouraged local sports, community and voluntary groups to provide information on their events, and this becomes more popular with each issue.
- To help inform residents about the services the Council offers, we've:
Introduced a new termly magazine for 11 to 16 year olds called ‘Intrigue’ and launched a new strip cartoon publication for year 6 primary school teachers to help inform 11 year olds about Council services.
If you have any comments, ideas or queries about the Citizens’ Panel please contact: Jonathan Platt, telephone: 0161 342 3527
RBA Research Contact: Cathy Burton, telephone: 0113 285 6300