Arrests up by a third in London’s crime and anti-social behaviour hotspots

Arrests for anti-social behaviour are up by a third in London compared to the previous year, the Met Police has reported.

The police force carried out more than 1,300 arrests between 30 June and 10 August during a crackdown on crime and anti-social behaviour in the city’s hotspots.

Among those arrested was a suspected shoplifter who has been charged with carrying out 113 offences in Waltham Forest, as well as a man who has been jailed for six months for targeting the same Co-op in Notting Hill on 15 occasions.

The Met analysed crime data to identify the 20 town centres and high streets across London that have the biggest challenge with anti-social behaviour, theft and street crime.

Delivered in partnership with local authorities, The Met said each borough will continue to see increased police and partner activity in hotspot areas including Stratford, Woolwich Town Centre, Finsbury Park, Croydon Town Centre, Shepherd’s Bush Green, Elephant and Castle, Seven Sisters and the West End.

The activity is part of the Home Office’s Safer Summer Streets campaign running until the end of September, which has seen officers focusing on reducing criminality and anti-social behaviour.

Deputy assistant commissioner Ben Russell, the Met’s lead for Safer Summer Streets, said: “Town centres across London continue to see an enhanced police presence this summer, building on reductions in theft, burglary, knife crime and robbery achieved so far this year, and more shoplifting cases solved.

“Through precise community crimefighting and intensified multi-agency action in 20 hotspots areas, offending is down and arrests are up.”

Crime and Policing Minister Dame Diana Johnson commented:“High streets and town centres are the very heart of our communities, but a decade of cuts to neighbourhood policing has left our town centres suffering from such little visible policing presence.

”We are working to turn this around. As part of our Plan for Change, we are boosting the number of neighbourhood police officers and delivering a summer blitz on town centre crime - sending a clear message to those who bring misery to our streets that their crimes will not go unpunished.

“These initial results from the Met are exactly what we want to see and demonstrate what we can achieve with a smart approach and more visible police presence, along with multi-agency action. I am grateful for their continued efforts to make streets safer for Londoners.”

Paul Gerrard, director of campaigns, public affairs and policy at the Co-op said:“Co-op has been a relentless campaigner to tackle retail crime and our partnerships with police forces across the UK are central to how we protect our colleagues, the shops they run and the communities they serve.

“We currently have 20 police partnerships nationwide, which continues to drive an increase in the number of offenders tackled, more sentences handed down and more rehabilitation orders than ever before. This illustrates how when retailers and police commit to working together and share intelligence, the prolific and persistent offenders who are behind the vast majority of retail crime can be tackled - and that’s good for shops but, importantly, also for the communities that rely on them.”