ROSE Hill residents say falling crime rates proves the area needs to keep its police base.

Crime has dropped by 26 per cent since the opening of the police base in Rose Hill five years ago, from 352 reported in 2007/08 compared to 260 in 2011/12.

As reported in the Oxford Mail, Thames Valley Police plans to close the police base in The Oval – which opened in 2007 – to save £14,000, but says it will be replaced.

It is not yet known where the replacement will be.

Bill Buckingham, 91, Rose Hill Community Centre Association secretary, said: “It is great to have the police on the estate because it has cut down hooliganism that used to take place.

“It is important that the police presence is there.”

In the neighbourhood policing area, which also covers Littlemore and Iffley, crime has dropped 29 per cent from 1,407 incidents in 2007/08 to 1,004 in 2011/12.

Rose Hill sergeant Alan Coffey told the Oxford Mail that a permanent base on the estate since 2007, a successful dispersal order from July 2006 to February 2008, increased patrols and work tackling drug and substance abuse were all to thank – as well as the regeneration of the estate itself.

He said: “Having a permanent base on the estate has helped us get to know the community a lot better.

“It has also helped us keep a close eye on individuals that we need to be watching and they need to know that we are watching.”

He added: “Having a permanent presence on the neighbourhood with an office there means we don’t have to go back to the station in Cowley for our break or to do paperwork.

“It maximises our visibility and time out and about.”

Rose Hill resident Sharon Bates, an adviser at the Rose Hill and Donnington Advice Centre in Ashhurst Way, said she feels the estate has improved since her car was vandalised about three years ago.

The 52-year-old grandmother of seven said: “I feel there have been improvements since that happened, you have PCSOs walking round the estate and that seems to deter crime.”

Rose Hill’s dilapidated wartime housing of Orlit, Minnox and Howard homes were replaced with 254 new flats and homes, with the final residents moving in 2012.

Ray James, 65, chairman of the Rose Hill Tenants and Residents' Association, said: “I think the regeneration has certainly had a positive impact on the estate generally.

“Rose Hill historically had a poor reputation and it is seen as a deprived area.

“Now that regeneration has gone on in the last few years it has changed the profile.”

Rose Hill community worker Fran Gardner said: “I have worked on the estate for almost four years and the key difference that I see and feel from when I started is the sense of community among residents and the feeling that, finally, there are so many good opportunities happening on Rose Hill.”

A £3m community centre is due to be built in Ashhurst Way, with a planning application expected next month.

FIGURES

TOTAL crimes recorded in Rose Hill since 2007:
 

  • 2007/08 – 352
  • 2008/09 – 374
  • 2009/10 – 265
  • 2010/11 – 302
  • 2011/12 – 260