Are private security patrols feeding fear of crime?

Crime is always one of the toughest topics to cover politically as there are so many different statistics that can prove so many different points.

And then there is the fear of crime, and whether it bears any relation to the actual figures.

So is it real crime or just the fear of it that's driving people in Darlington to pay a private security firm £3.50 a week to protect their homes?

Sparta Security say they are providing something the police are failing to give people at the moment - peace of mind.

For the money, they'll provide an instant call-out service to homes and businesses and patrol areas to keep them safe.

Durham Police take a dim view of that though.

They say the company is playing on people's unfounded fears, when in reality crime is falling in Darlington.

And local Labour councillors are concerned that a kind of two tier policing might emerge from this - the standard police service for those who can't afford to pay, and the top up from the security firm from those who can.

There were plenty of lively opinions from our politicians on the Politics Show today as they fought over some of the law and order ground that may well influence the results of the election.

And Labour is sensitive on the issue. It's been keen to take a hard line ever since Tony Blair talked about being tough on crime and tough on the causes of crime.

It's been part of their strategy for outflanking the Conservatives, and in by-elections they're often keen to paint the Lib Dems as being soft on the issue.

So the publicity surrounding Sparta Security is dangerous, as is this week's criticism of police forces by the Chief Inspector of Constabulary, Denis O'Connor.

He said some forces' failure to tackle low level anti-social behaviour was damaging public confidence in the police.

In response, the Police Federation also talked about the need for the courts to get tougher to ensure the miscreants they're arresting aren't just set free to offend again.

But at least the Chief Inspector was relatively complimentary about our forces in his assessments this week.

He rated confidence in the police as good in Durham, Cleveland, Northumbria and Cumbria. In North Yorkshire it was fair.

Cleveland, Cumbria and Northumbria also scored good marks for local policing, Durham and North Yorkshire fair.

But of course all sorts of statistics will be bandied about by all the parties in the next few weeks as they compete to show who can make us feel safe.

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