Croydon’s criminal ‘Monkey’ survey wheeze

Croydon, Surrey, residents have until Wednesday 30^th March to respond to the Council’s latest crime survey wheeze.  So get cracking and tell ‘em what they must surely know – crime and fear of crime is most people’s Number One issue and it needs action.  Not strategies.  Not ‘partnerships’.  Not liveried vans. Not office-bound admin workers. Not glossy publications.

Here’s the link: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/lbc-community-safety-survey

By the way – do you think the ‘Survey Monkey’ part of the web address actually means anything??  Is someone, some highly-remunerated council officer on a gold-plated pension having a laugh??

You’d think that anyone with half a brain already knew that crime and fear of crime was most people’s number one ‘community’ concern.  Well, you would, wouldn’t you?

So why is it that the Safer Croydon Partnership (nice, comforting name that is nothing of the sort) wants to know how we feel about crime and fear of crime?  It’s an electronic web-based survey, so presumably it will cost less than £100,000, but I am in no doubt that the money would be better spent on bobbies on the beat and action to deal with the intimidation and antisocial behaviour we all see, all over Croydon day and night.   Some of it may be low level intimidation that a rowdy gang of youths creates, by virtue of their size, street patois and appearance.  ‘Low level’ it may well be, but it’s intimidating, all the same.

Anyway, I filled in the survey, as instructed, so by the time I had worked my way to the end of this banal exercise I had worked up a head of steam at the futility of it all and launched myself into a why-oh-why rant.  Sorry reader(s), I thought I’d share it with you, in case it inspired you to take the ‘Survey Monkey’ challenge.  And tell ‘em what you think!!  Go to it!!

“I object to the self-congratulatory way anti crime measures are reported by the council.  Crime and fear of crime is my number one concern, and it seems to me that people driving around in safer Croydon liveried vans are not helpful.  We want to see uniformed people on the street, not in gangs of four or more chatting to each other.  I would like fewer strategies and more real action.  I do not like to see crime reported by the papers - egged on by councillors - as a political thing.  Elderly people are intimidated by the Croydon street gangs that road the town centre - it is of no concern to me that they might just be having innocent fun, but the simple fact is that this is intimidation and all the logos, the expensive strategies, the jargon, the grinning politicians, £70k council workers and liveried vehicles are just p**** in the wind.  None of it adds up to anything.”