Almost 80% of people who took part in our big Suffolk survey said they felt ‘very’ or ‘quite’ safe in the county.

Violence and knife crime was highlighted as their main point of concern, with anti-social behaviour and drug crime following close behind.

Tim Passmore, Suffolk’s Police and Crime Commissioner said: “The news in the survey suggesting 79% of residents feel pretty safe is really pleasing, but obviously we would all like this to be higher.

“Whilst levels of Anti Social Behaviour continue to declined it is still a considerable nuisance to many people and I fully share everyone’s grave concern about the higher levels of violent and drug related crime - it is a very serious threat to all of us in Suffolk

“That’s why I have asked the Chief Constable to ensure our police force address these challenges as vigorously as possible.

“Nevertheless, I must emphasise the long term solutions are not solely the Constabulary’s responsibility.

“Overall we must all pull together to tackle the causes of these dreadful crimes and support each other to try and ensure following a criminal lifestyle is never acceptable and this approach needs to be supported by tough sentencing for these offenders.

“I am totally committed to playing a full part in this approach to make the county as safe as possible.”

Tonya Antonis, county policing commander for Suffolk Constabulary said: “We are always keen to get feedback on the quality of our service from members of the public regardless of its form as it helps us tailor our service to ensure Suffolk remains one of the safest counties in the country.

“It is gratifying to hear that the majority of people feel ‘very’ or ‘quite’ safe, but we must not rest on our laurels and we realise there is always more we can and must do.

“It is not surprising, given the recent tragedies the county has faced in terms of knife and violent crime, that this is the issue residents most want us to tackle.

“Violent and knife crime is a national issue, however we understand the community’s concerns and are working very hard with our partners to address issues around knife crime.

“This work is on-going and includes working with the county council and borough council and other agencies to tackle the issue, as well as conducting regular, proactive operations to take as many knives and weapons off our streets as possible and working with schools to speak to young people about the dangers of carrying knives.”