"Neighbourhood" Crimes in H&F Fall by Over a Third

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And new data shows crimes in London overall down by almost 20%

London Mayor Boris Johnson has hailed the hard work of the Met Police as new data shows that they have hit his target of reducing seven key "neighbourhood" crimes by 20%, a year ahead of schedule.

According to the Mayor's office, that means over 80,000 fewer crimes committed on the capital’s streets.

According to the data, Hammersmith and Fulham is among boroughs which have benefited the most, with "neighbourhood" crimes falling by over a third.

Of the seven key neighbourhood crimes - burglary; vandalism/criminal damage; theft from motor vehicles; theft of motor vehicles; violence with injury, robbery; and theft from the person - robbery from a person and burglary have seen the biggest fall across the city – down 23% and 44% respectively.

However, one of the seven crime types – violence with injury – has seen an increase, rising by 13% since 2012.

In 2013, the Mayor, as part of his Police and Crime Plan, set the Metropolitan Police Service the challenge to reduce the key neighbourhood crimes by 20% by 2016. The new date shows that they have in fact cut these crimes by 19.8% overall since 2012, and are now on track to exceed the target by next year.

With crime falling faster in London than anywhere else in the country, this rise has been attributed to better recording, particularly around domestic violence, and a slight rise in recorded street level violence in some town centres.

Concerned by the increase, the Mayor and the Met have responded by focusing more resources on known hotspots and cracking down on licensed premises, which continue to flout the law on underage and excessive drinking.

Since the Mayor’s Police and Crime Plan was introduced, over 2,600 officers have been moved from back office to frontline duties, and last week the strength of the Met force reached a three year high at just under 32,000, with more BME and female officers.

The news comes on the same day as results of an annual survey, commissioned by the Mayor’s Office for Policing And Crime, or MOPAC, reveals that almost two-thirds - 64% to be exact - of Londoners questioned feel that policing has improved or remained the same since 2010, with 37% of black and minority ethnic respondents feeling it had "improved considerably or slightly".

The MOPAC Police and Crime Survey looked at attitudes to policing and crime in the capital. Alongside a high level of satisfaction with police performance, it also found that Londoners are now less concerned than they were in 2013 about burglary, violent crime and anti-social behaviour, with concern about burglary falling from 40 to 31%, violent crime from 11 to 8% and concern about anti-social behaviour from 28 to 20%.

When asked what would make them feel safer, 42% said more police on the streets, 23% action on anti-social behaviour and 11% better use of CCTV. For young people questioned, 23% of 16 - 24 year-old wanted more police on public transport.

Stephen Greehalgh, Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime and former Leader of H&F Council said: " The Mayor set an unashamedly ambitious challenge for the Met to radically reduce victim-based neighbourhood crime by 20% in four years and they are set to deliver this reduction a full year ahead of schedule. Hitting the target is good news and is helping to increase confidence in police performance but we cannot take for granted that it will continue. 

" Our challenge now to the Met and partner agencies is to keep up the hard work and ensure that Londoners continue to feel safer and more confident in our capital city."

March 24, 2015