Auditors

[Techie1 + 2,024]

In response to the stats, the Home Office claims its reforms are working.

Britain's largest police force has recorded a surge in violent, gun and knife crime in what officers warned is a national phenomenon.

Scotland Yard registered annual rises across a number of serious offence categories in the last 12 months, following several years of falls.

There were jumps in robbery, theft, violence, gun and knife crime in 2016/17 in London and police say the pattern is being replicated around the country.

The disclosures will reignite the debate over resources following warnings from a string of senior figures over the impacts of further budget squeezes on forces.

They also come weeks after watchdogs issued a stark warning over the "potentially perilous" state of British policing, and lay bare the challenges facing new Scotland Yard chief Cressida Dick.

Statistics published by the Metropolitan Police show that:

Gun crime increased by more than two fifths (42%) year-on-year with 2,544 offences recorded in 2016/17

Knife crime jumped by almost a quarter (24%), with more than 4,000 offences involving blades resulting in an injury

The total number of offences recorded by the force rose by nearly 4.6% from 740,933 to 774,737

Violence against the person crimes were up by 4.7% while there were also increases in robberies (12%), sex offences (9%) and theft (7%)

There were 110 homicides - one more than the previous year

Sanction detection rates - the proportion of cases where action is taken against a suspect such as a charge or caution - were down across a number of categories

As the figures were released, officers raised the alarm over a shift in knife crime which has seen the proportion of youngsters carrying blades who are affiliated with gangs fall from around a third to approximately a quarter.

Officers reported an increasing trend for youths in the capital to keep blades on them for protection rather than in order to carry out crime.

Assistant Commissioner Martin Hewitt said: "Young people carrying knives are doing so for a variety of reasons including status, criminality and self-protection but only around a quarter are affiliated with gangs.

"There is a phenomenon of people feeling that you need to carry a knife to be safe. There is a lot greater sense that 'I need this to protect myself'. The problem comes when you then get a confrontation."

The Met has launched investigations into three separate fatal stabbings in the capital since the start of the week.

On the overall crime figures, Mr Hewitt insisted that London is "one of the safest global cities in the world".

He said: "Similar to the rest of England and Wales, crime rates in London are rising, but many of these are still at a much lower level than five years ago and are against the backdrop of significant reductions in resources."

The force has closed dozens of police stations and lost hundreds of staff as it made savings totalling hundreds of millions of pounds since 2010, although officer numbers have remained broadly steady at around 31,000.

Deputy London Mayor for Policing Sophie Linden, said: "These figures are deeply disturbing, and a stark reminder of the enormous pressure our police are under every day as they work so tirelessly to protect us."

In response to the worrying figures the Home Office highlighted improvements in violent crime rates elsewhere but acknowledged more had to be done.

A spokeswoman said: "Police reform is working, with the latest ONS figures showing crimes traditionally measured by the (British Crime) Survey have fallen by a third since 2010 to a record low, with over 370,000 fewer violent crimes a year.

"Every violent crime is a significant concern and this Government is taking action to tackle it and keep our communities safe, including through actions set out in our Modern Crime Prevention Strategy.

"Last year, we banned zombie knives, extended our work with retailers to prevent underage sales of knives and supported police in a week of action where they seized more than 1,200 weapons and made 300 arrests.

"We know there is more to be done. We will continue to work with the police, retailers and voluntary groups to tackle knife crime and ensure support is available for victims of gang violence and exploitation."

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[MerseyLLB 8,426]

I love crime stats.

The government choose the lower between police recorded and BCS statistics to back their view that 'crime is falling and police reform is working. Increases in recorded crime is due to more stringent crime recording rules'.

[Reasonable Man + 1,251]

They can't choose Police Recorded Crime with any credibility as those lost their position as being National Statistics - i.e. A trustworthy set of figures - a couple of years ago.
Until the ONS decides that police forces have got their houses in order with crime recording PRC is not a valid set of statistics.


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[MerseyLLB 8,426]

3 hours ago, Reasonable Man said:

They can't choose Police Recorded Crime with any credibility as those lost their position as being National Statistics - i.e. A trustworthy set of figures - a couple of years ago.
Until the ONS decides that police forces have got their houses in order with crime recording PRC is not a valid set of statistics.


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You honestly believe that if police recorded crime fell the Government wouldn't state that police crime recording concerns had been addressed, police reform was working abs crime was falling?

[Reasonable Man + 1,251]

You honestly believe that if police recorded crime fell the Government wouldn't state that police crime recording concerns had been addressed, police reform was working abs crime was falling?

I didn't say they wouldn't use it. It said they couldn't use it with any credibility.
Not that that sort of thing has stopped politicians before.


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