PEOPLE are being asked for their views on which kind of crimes should be the priority for Bexley police in the coming year.

Bexley’s Community Safety Partnership has published its joint strategic assessment and drawn up suggested priorities, based on crime trends and the concerns of the borough’s neighbourhood panels.

The suggested priorities are assaults, residential burglaries and anti-social behaviour.

For neighbourhood panels, the biggest concern over the past year has been anti-social behaviour by young people, with nearly a third of panels making it one of their own priorities for local police action.

Theft, stealing from cars and minor assaults accounted for a quarter of Bexley’s crime in the last year.

The good news is crime is still going down in Bexley, with a decrease of 4.5 compared with last year.

That is around 600 fewer offences.

The figures show although more crime is committed in the north of the borough, but in general the picture of crime in Bexley is relatively stable.

There is some evidence of people coming into Bexley to commit crime, but most offences are committed by locals.

More than half the calls to police last year were about anti-social behaviour and was nine per cent higher than in 2008.

Bexleyheath Broadway suffers the most.

A public attitude survey showed 60 per cent thought “teenagers hanging around the streets” was a problem. They were also worried about gun crime and gangs on Bexley’s streets, even thought it is not a major issue.

Burglary in the borough has dropped by more than 7 per cent, or 80 fewer break-ins , but is expected to rise again next year.

Assaults have dropped in general, although the most serious violence has increased by 11.5 per cent or 15 offences.

To read the assessment in full and give your views, go to met.police.uk/met/boroughs/bexley The deadline for comments is July 20.