THE reason why Wellington had such a low crime rate was because ‘everyone knows everyone’ said Cllr Marcus Barr at the November meeting of Wellington Town Council.

A written police report presented to councillors showed that recorded crimes had dropped from 58 to 51 between September and October with thefts going down from 13 to seven, domestic incidents falling from 12 to seven and harassment cases dropping from 11 to three.

There had been a public order incident at Howard Road between several local youths on Saturday, October 29. It was an ongoing dispute and several youths had received minor injuries. The incident was still being investigated.

There had been nine calls to the police about anti-social behaviour during October – none during Hallowe’en – three fewer than in September.

The Deputy Mayor, Gary James, said he was not very happy there was no police presence at the council meeting. “I know we have a small number of officers in the town but they always seem to be used in Taunton,” he said.

“I haven’t seen a policeman in the town for a long time. It seems to be getting worse.” He said he would take the issue up with the chief constable.

In the past the police have attended council meetings to answer councillors’ questions but have always said their attendance is dependent upon service demands. The number of officers in Avon and Somerset has been reduced following cuts in Government expenditure.