Home Office funding for extra policing in Croydon town centre finishes at the end of April, and there’s no plans to increase officer presence on Surrey Street. EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES
Crime hot-spot: traders and councillors have been appealling for more CCTV and police on Surrey Street
The Metropolitan Police will not provide undertakings that they will increase permanently officer patrolsin Surrey Street Market, despite complaints going back at least three years from traders who say they are “scared” of the drug gangs who operate in the area.
Superintendent Mitch Carr, the lead for community policing in Croydon, told Inside Croydon today that, “Improving the perception of safety in Croydon town centre cannot be achieved just by the police.”
Superintendent Carr went on to say that the Met would be working with Croydon BID, and its small team of private security “rangers”.
Home Office funding for increased Met staffing in Croydon town centre – “Operation Nightingale” – runs out at the end of this month, and there has been no public announcement of additional money to police what has become a crime hot-spot.
The Tory Government’s policing minister is Chris Philp, the MP for Croydon South.
Murdered: Rijkaard Siafa
Traders on Surrey Street, where Rijkaard Siafa was brutally murdered in broad daylight on April 12, say that they have been calling for extra police and improved CCTV coverage for at least three years – but neither the council nor the Met Police have responded to their appeals.
One market trader told Inside Croydon that they and the staff on their stall had been threatened repeatedly, and attacked. They say that gangs of youths deal drugs quite openly on the street market. Local councillors have confirmed their increasing concerns.
A recent Surrey Street meeting – held before the Siafa murder this month – reportedly broke up in some disarray when council officials could not provide any assurances to businesses, traders or residents that additional measures could be taken to deal with the growing issues around crime and violence.
Another trader, Jose Joseph, runs the large fruit and veg stall on the corner of Surrey Street and Church Street, close to where the murderous attack took place 12 days ago.
“We’re scared,” he said.
“There is fear because of what happened, people think this is a bad place. There are mostly ladies and children here, they need protection,” Joseph told a small-circulation newspaper.
Council calls: stall-holder Jose Joseph (right) with Labour’s Fairfield councillor Chris Clark
Council-operated CCTV cameras only cover the area on Surrey Street half the time – as the cameras automatically rotate to cover parts of Church Street as well. Calls for an increase in cameras, from two to three, to give better coverage of Surrey Street, have not been answered.
Dealing with drug dealers in Croydon town centre was not included among the “priority” actions for the Metropolitan Police when they delivered a briefing to Croydon BID, the business improvement district, late last year.
Croydon BID has about 500 member businesses, who all pay additional business rates for additional policing in the area. Few BID members are traders on Surrey Street, and the organisation’s small team of uniformed private security operators tend to patrol North End, rather than the street market.
The Met’s dedicated Croydon Town Centre team consists of an inspector, three sergeants and 20 constables.
“I believe there is justification for this team to be larger given the size of our town centre and the level of demand we face. I continue to make the case for this,” Carr said.
Busy beat: Supt Mitch Carr
Emergency response teams, central London events such as protests and football matches continue to make calls on the town centre team’s staffing, Carr said.
And despite the strong case for more, and more visible, policing by the Met, rather than by a local business group’s contractors, Carr was unable to give any undertaking that such moves might be possible.
Speaking exclusively to Inside Croydon, Superintendent Carr said: “Since Rijkaard’s murder, we have increased our patrols across the town centre to provide reassurance and answer any questions the community may have. This has included specifically tasking uniformed officers to visit each business to discuss concerns about crime and safety.
“We acknowledge the concerns of those who work in Surrey Street and our town centre officers regularly patrol the area and speak to market traders.
“We also need this to be a full partnership approach, as improving the perception of safety in Croydon town centre cannot be achieved just by the police.
“We will continue to work closely with key partners including the local authority, Croydon BID and community organisations.”
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ROTTEN BOROUGH AWARDS: In January 2024, Croydon was named among the country’s rottenest boroughs for a SEVENTH successive year in the annual round-up of civic cock-ups in Private Eye magazine
Policing “central London events such as protests” is code for cracking down on peaceful people the government wants silenced, whether they’re concerned about genocide in Gaza or the climate crisis.
Our boys and girls in blue have got far better things to do, like stopping people from being murdered in broad daylight. Sadly the Tories disagree and set the wrong priorities
If ‘Mitch’ Carr thinks ‘perception’ is the problem, I hope he’s not thinking about another of those misguided and insulting publicitry campaigns we used to have. This isn’t about ‘perception’ – it’s about real fear. As you say, more cops is the key.
Yes. It’s a shame that Theresa May, when she was Home Secretary, cut 20,000 officers from the country’s police forces.
And it’s a shame that when he was Mayor of London, Boris Johnson closed most of the capital’s police stations.
When you think about that, any increases in crime rates become more understandable.
In the interests of accuracy, and fairness, four police stations closed in Croydon on Boris’ watch, according to IC.
It’s not the number of police stations that matters, imho, but the number of bobbies on the beat – which is a shameful story..