Crime is down to an historic low in Hammersmith & Fulham after falling by 15% last year, according to the latest Met Police figures.
There were 3,295 fewer crimes in Hammersmith & Fulham (H&F) in 2013 when compared to 2012. Overall there were 19,250 crimes recorded in H&F in 2013 compared to 22,545 crimes in 2012.
A detailed breakdown of the stats reveals the number of personal robberies is down by 21%, while burglary has fallen 18%, or 337 offences. There were 1,789 fewer offences for theft and handling offences and the number of motor vehicle crime decreased by 21%. Violent crimes such as common assault, harassment and use of an offensive weapon fell by 278 offences.
The news comes as H&F Council continues to spend £1.3million a year for three squads of extra town centre beat Police with local businesses adding an extra £350,000 a year. The additional cash means the borough has 42 more Police officers than it would do otherwise.
The council is also deploying the latest in CCTV and mobile camera technology to target and deter offenders. The council’s state-of-the art CCTV command centre at Hammersmith town hall streams images from more than 800 cameras 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Around 500 incidents are captured each month leading to around 100 arrests on average.
Meanwhile, the council’s parks police officers are using lapel worn cameras to crack down on crime in the borough’s parks and open spaces. The pager-sized gadgets utilise the latest high definition technology and enable officers to capture court ready evidence at the touch of a button.
Cllr Greg Smith, H&F Council Deputy Leader, says, “Crime is at an all-time low in H&F and continues to fall thanks to the fantastic joint working between residents’ groups – like Neighbourhood Watch – and various council and police teams.
“Extra beat Police combined with a comprehensive network of CCTV cameras and good work from the council’s neighbourhood wardens and parks police teams mean H&F is now safer than ever.
“We will continue to relentlessly target the criminal minority and are determined to drive crime down further.”
Greg Hands M.P. added: "This is fantastic news and testifies to the hard work being done by the Hammersmith & Fulham police and to Cllr Greg Smith and the whole team of Conservative Councillors, who were elected in both 2006 and 2010 on a strong pledge to bear down on crime. Nobody wants to go back to the bad old days under Labour of high crime and rampant anti-social behaviour".
To read more about the ways the council is fighting crime and antisocial behaviour in the borough visit www.lbhf.gov.uk/crime.