The rise in muggings in Croydon is second only to Westminster across the Metropolitan Police area. In Sutton, muggings were down by 1.5 per cent in the 12 months to February 2013; in Bromley, it was down by 17 per cent; in Lambeth it was down 14.6 per cent; in Merton, down 14 per cent; while in Southwark, muggings were up 6.2 per cent.
The figures are significant, since they cover a full 12-month period soon after the riots that hit Croydon on 8/8.
The Met’s statistics show that street robbery in Croydon has gone up by more than anywhere else in outer London, and more than anywhere else in south London.
Across outer London, Croydon now has the highest number of street robberies, at 1,888 in the year to February 2013.
It cannot be mere coincidence that Bromley, Merton and Sutton all saw smaller falls in their numbers of police and PCSOs than Croydon between 2010 and 2012. Croydon lost more than half of its PCSOs and 12 per cent of its police officers.
The Mayor of London is proposing to leave the whole of the borough of Croydon with just one central police station. That may be a maverick way of reducing the crime rate, as it will undoubtedly make it far more difficult for members of the public to report crime.
Steve Reed MP: “shocking” rise in street crime
Croydon North will be left without a police station at all under the closures proposed, and the local MP, Steve Reed, said today, “These are truly shocking figures.
“Street robberies are falling across London as a whole but in Croydon the number has soared – even while the number falls in similar and neighbouring boroughs.
“The Mayor of London will have known of these figures when he proposed to close every police station in Croydon North and he has still not explained why he cut police numbers in Croydon by more than other outer London boroughs,” Reed said.
“After the riots the independent panel called for a greater police presence in north Croydon but despite promises made at the time, Boris Johnson is now doing the contrary, closing police stations and presiding over a cut in police numbers.
“He cannot ignore these figures, nor the justified anger of people across Croydon – he should take this opportunity to stop, think and withdraw his foolish proposals and instead take proper action to make our streets safer.”
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