MPA welcomes drop in recorded crime but says more needs to be done to reduce street robbery and violence in London

48/01
18 July 2001

Chair of the Metropolitan Police Authority, Toby Harris, today welcomed the fall in total offences in London but said more needed to be done to reduce robbery and violence and increase detection rates.

Speaking following the publication of Home Office figures for recorded crime in England and Wales for the 12 month period to March, he said:

"London has seen a fall in total offences similar to England and Wales, but records nearly half of all robberies reported in Britain, up by almost 14 per cent in the capital over the previous year. Detection rates are also below the national average.

"Much is being done to tackle these problems already, such as the successful Operation Trident which targets gun crime, with 300 arrests and 90 firearms recovered to date, for example.

"But the MPA will continue to conduct rigorous and in-depth interrogations of police data and performance to determine what works, what doesn't and spread good practice.

"We can't achieve significant changes overnight, but we must take action to prevent certain crimes continuing to rise, especially those that concern Londoners most, such as street robbery, violence, hate crime and autocrime.

"A proactive and decisive police authority which works closely with their police service as a critical friend, scrutinising, advising and where necessary, holding them to account for their actions or lack of action is an effective way to drive up police performance and efficiency. Only a police authority which understands in detail how the police service operates within the local context can carry out this important role properly.

"To help drive down crime, the MPA is already:

• working in partnership with boroughs, borough commanders and community consultative groups to support crime and disorder reduction initiatives;
• setting targets in our policing plan for 2001/02 for the Metropolitan Police Service to reduce street crime (including robbery), rape, homicide, burglary and autocrime;
• rigorously scrutinising and interrogating police data, comparing the performance of borough against borough via our professional standards and performance monitoring committee;
• receiving detailed briefings on specific police initiatives, such as Operation Strongbox aimed at reducing volume crime, and Operation Crackdown which tackles drug-related offences;
• carrying out In-depth examinations of MPS performance in specific areas, such as rape investigation and victim care;
• involved in Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary inspections of boroughs;
• participating in the Met's own borough inspection programme;
• continuing with close community involvement via consultation;
• working with the Met and others to reduce youth crime through a variety of borough-based initiatives.

"We are already doing much in partnership with the police and others to reduce crime and the fear of crime. But until Londoners feel truly safe on our streets, then our vital work goes on."

Notes to editors

The Home Office report, Recorded Crime Statistics England and Wales 12 Months to March 2001, is published today.

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