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7.1% fall in crime in Hounslow attributed to increase in force numbers The Metropolitan Police are hailing new crime statistics which they say mark a 'spectacular success' in the fight against crime. Crime levels in Hounslow Borough fell by over 7% over the last year well above the London wide fall of 1.8%. However, the figures show an increase in burglaries of 2.3% in the borough, compared with a drop across London of 7.1% Nevertheless burglaries in London are at a 29 year low. Borough Commander Jeff Harris was delighted with the figures which show that there are 200 hundred less victims of crime a month in his area. There were falls in key areas such as street crime, vehicle crime, race hate crime, violent offences and weapons related crime. He said the main disappointment was the increase in burglaries but he pointed out that much of that increase was down to one crack addict who recently admitted to 60 offences of residential burglary. He said, "I wholeheartedly believe these teams will make immense differences to the quality of life for our community. It's not actually new as in 1829 Sir Richard Mayne - Home Secretary at the time of the founding of the Met. Police - stated quite clearly what the aim of the Police was - and it's almost exactly the same as what we want to do today ! The difference is that - provided the money is forthcoming from H.M Govt and the GLA/Mayo'rs Office/MPA - we are beginning to have the numbers of Police available to make things happen." Key results for Hounslow in 2003 - 2004 include...
The results were praised by Hounslow's candidate for the London Assembly, Seema Malhotra. Seema said "The success reflected in these figures is the direct result of deliberately tough and testing targets set by the MPA, the big increase in police numbers, effective community and borough-based partnerships, and the unstinting effort put in by police officers across Hounslow". "The introduction of Police Community Support Officers across Hounslow is also starting to make a real difference in deterring nuisance and anti-social crimes. I'm confident that we'll see greater improvements across the board as dedicated police teams are introduced under the Safer Neighbourhoods initiative." Across London, burglary is down 7.1 per cent to a 29 year low, auto-crime down 7.1 per cent and there has been a 4.2 per cent reduction in street crime offences. Seema Malhotra continued "There are more police in London than ever before thanks to the work of Ken Livingstone and the London Assembly. These figures show that our investment in the Metropolitan Police is paying dividends."
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