Hertfordshire's Police and Crime Commissioner has hailed the success of a major county-wide safety campaign launched over the summer, with new figures showing sharp reductions in crime and anti-social behaviour across town centres – including Hitchin.

The Safer Town Centres initiative, launched at the beginning of July, brought together police teams, local councils, trading standards, charities, and community groups to improve safety in high streets, parks and public spaces.

The Commissioner reported progress to the Police and Crime Panel this week (20 November), highlighting what he described as "real results" for local people and businesses.

Key achievements across Hertfordshire

The county's constabulary delivered more than 3,000 hours of visible town centre foot patrols every month through Operation Hotspot, boosting police presence and community reassurance.

Across the most recent 12 months:

• Anti-social behaviour fell by over 10%
• Overall town centre crime reduced by 6%
• Criminal damage down 28%
• Public order offences down 50%
• Shoplifting down 6%, meaning 144 fewer offences in local stores
• Business burglaries fell by 13%
• Reports of cycle theft dropped by 66%
• Possession of drugs offences rose by 5%, attributed to targeted enforcement
• Residents reported seeing more visible policing as a result of the initiative

A new Herts Against Retail Crime group has also been created, bringing retailers and police together to tackle shoplifting and abuse against shop workers.

Hitchin included in summer of action

The Commissioner spent the summer visiting towns across the county to support targeted operations and community initiatives.

This included:

• Supporting pubs in Hitchin signing up to the Women's Safety Charter, aimed at keeping the night-time economy safe
• Patrols with borough and district officers tackling retail crime, antisocial behaviour and e-scooter misuse elsewhere in the county
• Attending raids on shops selling illegal vapes in Royston and Bishop's Stortford
• Meeting youth groups in Waltham Cross and joining arson patrols in Watford
• Backing knife crime awareness events linked to the arrival of the Knife Angel in Welwyn Garden City

'Hertfordshire's town centres are safe – and we're making them even safer'

Police and Crime Commissioner Jonathan Ash-Edwards said the results demonstrated the power of strong partnership working:

"Our Safer Town Centres initiative has shown how bringing the police, councils, businesses and local services together can deliver real results in cutting crime and making our town centres safer.

"High-visibility police foot patrols have been increased through Operation Hotspot, and our focused work over the summer cut town centre crime and anti-social behaviour.

"With the busy Christmas and New Year period coming up, residents will continue to see a strong focus on tackling retail crime, anti-social behaviour and keeping the night-time economy safe."

He added:

"Hertfordshire's town centres are safe places. I want them to be even safer, with visible policing so businesses can invest and people can spend time in our towns with confidence."