Legal News

Kingston Council says that the borough remains the safest in London for the second year running, based on figures from annual crime data released by the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS).

MPS figures reveal that there were 10,599 notifiable offences in Kingston, the fewest number of crimes in all 32 London boroughs. Second lowest was Sutton, with 11,011 notifiable offences, followed by Richmond with 11,771.

Compared with the previous year, the total number of offences in Kingston rose by 4.3% (439), lower than the 4.6% rise seen across the MPS area as a whole.

The increase is attributed to improvements in crime recording for burglary, shoplifting and violent crime – balanced by the large reductions reported previously for these volume crimes.

The council says the “big wins” for the Safer Kingston Partnership this year included a 21% reduction in drug possession and a 14% fall in offences for “going equipped” – in possession of any articles for use in the course of, or in connection with, any burglary or theft.

Domestic abuse – another key volume crime and partnership priority – saw its first reduction in recent years.

There was a 44% reduction in gun crime in the borough, matched by a 44% increase in knife crime – but the council says that, in real terms, the numbers for both crimes are very small and among the lowest in London.

Kingston Borough Commander, T/Chief Superintendent Anthony Enoch, from the Metropolitan Police Service, said:

“We are working hard with our partners and the public to reduce and solve crime in the borough.

“Kingston has the lowest volume of crime of any borough in London for the second year running – and I’m pleased to also add, the second highest detection rate.

“This I hope goes some way to reassuring our residents that Kingston is a very safe place to live, work and visit.”

In a recent survey by Kingston Council, 94% of respondents said they felt safe when outside in the local area during the day – three-quarters (75%) said they felt safe after dark, a rise of 10% when compared with previous findings.

Director of Finance at Kingston Council, Leigh Whitehouse, Chair of the Safer Kingston Partnership, added:

“Our collective vision is that people who live, work and visit Kingston should not only be safe – they should feel safe too.

“A particular focus for partners has been improving the safety and diversity of Kingston’s night-time economy over that past year, so it’s very encouraging to see people’s confidence increasing after dark.

“The renewal of Kingston’s Purple Flag status and co-ordination of Kingston’s growing Pubwatch are just some of the initiatives led by the partnership to improve safety at night, along with extra policing in the town centre.

“An additional 12 police officers were funded by the council to support this increased presence – and clearly it has paid dividends.

“We hope MPS commits to making this additional resource available in the future.”

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