A SCHEME has been launched to reduce residents' fear of crime.

Durham County Council and Durham Police Authority have announced they will work together to tackle the problem.

The move, which will involve public consultative meetings and an Internet survey, follows the findings of the recent British Crime Survey.

The report showed that, despite record numbers of police on duty in the county and lower than average levels of reported incidents, there was still a great fear of crime among the public.

Councillor Jim Cordon, chairman of the county councils overview and scrutiny working group that is carrying out the work with the Police Authority, said: "We hope that it will give us a greater insight into the nature of the fear of crime problem and enable us to devise effective solutions to tackle it.

"The fear of crime in County Durham is disproportionately given the low levels of crime being committed and we want to find out the reasons for this apparent anomaly.

"The problem is not confined to highly populated, deprived urban parts of the county. We are getting the same message from rural areas."

As part of the information gathering process, Durham Police Authority has launched an on-line survey, which can be accessed on the Police Authority's website at www.durham-pa.gov.uk.

Police Authority chairwoman Anne Wright said: "The on-line survey and local meetings provide alternative methods for members of the public to submit their views about the factors which influence the fear of crime and help to shape future policing and community safety strategies."

Another part of the information gathering exercise will see members of the county council's fear of crime scrutiny working group attending selective police community consultative group meetings to explain what their project entails and to assess public opinion.

The meetings all begin at 7pm. They will be held tomorrow at East Lea (Deneside) Community Centre, Seaham; on Thursday at Grey Gardens Community Centre, Coundon and on Tuesday, October 19, at Teesdale District Council Offices, in Galgate, Barnard Castle.