Legal News

New crime figures for the Royal Borough of Greenwich in south London show a 17.4% drop in crime rates for the borough, after measures to tackle youth crime, violent crime and domestic violence.

Over the last two years, the council has invested £675,000 in supporting victims of domestic violence in the borough and to encourage the perpetrators of domestic violence to seek help.

The funding supports the work of the domestic violence intervention team (DVIT) – a police unit based at Plumstead police station, which provides an emergency response and follow-up support.

Funding is also given to the Greenwich Domestic Violence and Abuse Service, to provide a telephone helpline for victims.

The Royal Borough of Greenwich is also working closely with its partners to challenge some of the underlying factors behind violent crime, especially youth crime.

The Council and Metropolitan Police met with local parents earlier in 2016, to focus on how families can seek support and advice if they are worried about their son or daughter getting involved in violent crime.

The figures are based on targets for seven categories of crime set four years ago by the Mayor of London Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC).

Figures for Greenwich show a fall in household burglaries, with recorded incidents dropping by 35.7%.

However, incidents of violent crime with injury have increased by 5.7%.

The council says that, while this is significantly below the London-wide increase of 20.2%, tackling violent crime remains a top priority for both the Royal Borough of Greenwich and the local Metropolitan Police.

Tackling violent crime will also be the main focus of the Safer Greenwich Partnership (SGP), a cross-agency group specialising to tackle crime, anti-social behaviour and substance misuse.

The Royal Borough's Cabinet Member for Community Safety and Environment, Councillor Jackie Smith, said:

“The drop in crime shown in these recent figures is very encouraging – residents will also be heartened to see a reduction in the number of residential burglaries being committed.

“The increase in violent crime however, remains a serious concern – tackling it will remain the highest priority for the Safer Greenwich Partnership, along with bolstering the successful VOCU and Greenwich Domestic Violence and Abuse Service.”

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