Targeted: Croydon town centre is to be targeted in a summer clampdown on crime
Croydon town centre has been named in a list of crime “hot spots” issued today by the Metropolitan Police, among the places in London most likely to attract anti-social behaviour, theft and street crime.
Increased police patrols will be at these hotspots over the summer, with “intelligence-led” plain-clothed officers to target prolific offenders.
“It’s a step up from Mayor Perry tackling crime by uprooting a couple of street benches, I suppose,” one long-suffering town centre trader told Inside Croydon today.
The scheme is part of the Home Office’s national Safer Streets Summer Initiative, which is set to last until the end of September.
Deputy Commissioner for the Met, Matt Jukes, said the force was tackling “the crimes that matter most to Londoners”.
Other areas on the 30-strong list to be targeted in this way include Stratford and Shepherds Bush Green – both locations which have large Westfield shopping malls – as well as the Elephant and Castle, Brixton, Catford, Kingston and Lewisham.
The hot spots were identified by Metropolitan Police data which shows they account for almost one-tenth of blade offences, 1-in-4 thefts and 6% of all anti-social behaviour calls.
Latest monthly Met figures show 102,083 shoplifting offences were recorded in the year to May, an annual increase of 41.9%.
Shoplifting is estimated to cost the capital’s retailers £16.8million every month.
The Met’s blitz will be “a multi-agency operation” by the Met, MOPAC, the Mayor’s office for policing and crime, as well as local authorities and community partners.
According to the Met, the force has solved 163% more cases of shoplifting in the first six weeks of this financial year compared to last.
Deputy mayor for policing and crime, Kaya Comer-Schwartz, said: “The safety of our town centres is more than just policing – it’s about building stronger, more connected communities where everyone feels secure.”
The Met has been using live facial recognition cameras on Croydon’s North End shopping area since 2023, and now has permission for permanent anti-crime cameras to be installed, despite concerns raised by civil rights groups.
Secure: deputy mayor Kaya Comer-Schwartz
The town centre clampdown in Croydon does, however, undermine Mayor Jason Perry’s pitch to renew his PSPO in the town centre based on claims that it has been effective at deterring anti-social behaviour and petty crime. The Met’s stats contradict that claim.
Perry’s council wants to renew its Public Space Protection Order, or PSPO, in Croydon town centre. Public Space Protection Orders came into existence under the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 and give councils the “additional” powers to issue on-the-spot fines for offences such as littering and street-drinking. Croydon town centre had a PSPO from 2017 to 2020, while the latest one is coming to the end of its three-year term.
The police already have wide-ranging powers under existing legislation to move people on or arrest them if they have proper due cause. PSPO’s allow councils to hire in private security firms to act as high street “bounty hunters”, often collecting commissions on every fine issued.
PSPOs have also been used to restrict public access to public areas, often in the interest of private businesses and property owners.
Read more: Town centre PSPO is another Perry failure. It’s time to scrap it
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Read more: 10,000 sign Liberty petition against facial recognition cameras
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