The question of police presence in Lightwater, Surrey Heath, is complex, encompassing both the number of officers and their responsiveness. Lightwater, a built-up area with a population of 6544, exhibits a relatively low crime rate of 46.6 incidents per 1,000 residents. This is considerably lower than the United Kingdom’s average of 91.6 incidents per 1,000. This lower crime rate contributes to a high safety score of 90 out of 100, significantly exceeding the UK average of 79.
However, understanding police presence also requires examining response times. Data from 2024 indicates a mean immediate response time of 24 minutes for Lightwater. For priority incidents, the mean response time is considerably longer, averaging 491 minutes. These figures reflect the time taken for police to respond to incidents requiring urgent attention versus those deemed less pressing. It’s important to note that these are mean times, and individual response times can vary depending on factors such as incident severity, officer availability, and geographic location within Surrey Heath.
While the lower crime rate is encouraging, the longer priority response time warrants consideration. It suggests that while immediate threats may be addressed relatively quickly, non-urgent issues might experience delays in police intervention. This could be due to resource allocation across Surrey Heath, or other factors impacting police availability. The high safety score likely reflects the overall low crime rate, rather than solely the speed of police response.
It is difficult to ascertain the specific number of police officers assigned to Lightwater without access to Surrey Police’s internal resource allocation data. However, the combination of a low crime rate and specific response times provides a snapshot of the police presence and its effectiveness within the area.