Hammersmith bobbies beating crime
Tuesday January 26, 2010
Hammersmith's elite squad of council funded beat bobbies is winning the battle against crime in the town centre, according to the latest Police figures.
Key crimes like burglary, theft and robbery have fallen dramatically since the handpicked team of beat Police started pounding the streets of Hammersmith Broadway in April 2009.
The overall number of crimes in the area has fallen by 1.2 per cent - from 2,156, between April - November 2008, to 2,131 between April - November 2009.
H&F Council was the first local authority in Britain to extend the hours of some Safer Neighbourhood teams to 24 hours-a-day, 7-day-a-week. Fulham Broadway and Shepherds Bush Green were the first two trial schemes. In April 2009 a third squad was added and sent into Hammersmith Broadway and the Fulham Broadway scheme was refined to enable a sharper focus on peak times.
The council is spending more than £1.8 million per year to pay for the three enhanced town centre squads which means the borough has 60 more Police officers than it would do without the funding.
Councillor Greg Smith, H&F Council Cabinet Member for Crime & Street Scene, says: "More burglars, thieves, drug dealers and other dangerous criminals are now behind bars thanks to the council's funding for enhanced beat policing squads in our three major town centres.
"Councils do not usually fund the Police but we understand how important cracking down on crime is to residents and this is why we have made it a top priority."
When Police figures for Hammersmith Broadway, from April - November 2009, are compared with the same period in 2008, burglary is down from 111 offences to 100. Robbery is down 35 per cent, theft from a motor vehicle is down 5.7 per cent and ABH has fallen from 136 to 117 - a 14 per cent decline.
H&F Police Borough Commander, Chief Superintendent Kevin Hurley said: "The funding provided by the council to provide increased high visibility foot policing teams in Shepherds Bush, Hammersmith and Fulham town centres is having a very significant impact on crimes like robbery, burglary and drug misuse.
"The work of these teams is building on the year-on-year reductions being achieved across the borough for burglary and robbery. They are one of the reasons why police officers from as far as way as Edinburgh come here to find out how we are doing so well at reducing crime."
While key crimes are falling more people have confidence in the Police, according to a recent council survey. In the poll, 80 per cent of respondents said they had confidence in the Police - up 12 per cent on last year.
The fourth annual H&F Crime Summit will take place at Hammersmith Town Hall in March and is your chance to tell the authorities what you think about crime in your area. If you would like to book a place or want more information please email crime.summit@lbhf.gov.uk or call 020 8753 2816.
Latest crime figures for H&F» (Met Police website, opens new window)
