Retail crime up in W12

Tuesday January 26, 2010

Retail crime is up in Shepherds Bush after Britain's biggest urban shopping centre opened, but other crimes continue to fall.

As predicted, the giant Westfield Shopping Centre has caused crimes such as shoplifting and bag thefts to rise.

But, when crime in Westfield is excluded from the statistics, the overall number of crimes in Shepherds Bush has tumbled by 16 per cent - from 1,661, between April - November 2008, to 1,385 between April - November
2009.

Key crimes like burglary, theft from a motor vehicle and use of an offensive weapon have fallen dramatically since a handpicked team of beat Police started pounding the streets around the Green in April 2009.

But Westfield Shopping Centre is driving up the number of retail crimes in Shepherds Bush with around 100 crimes per month committed since its opening in October 2009. Britain's biggest inner-city mega-mall has seen
446 arrests for shoplifting, 365 for 'other theft' and 109 for 'dipping' - where property is stolen from a bag - according to the latest Police figures.

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."

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. Shepherds Bush Green and Fulham Broadway were the first two trial schemes. 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 sixty 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 Shepherds Bush Green, from April - November 2009, are compared with the same period in 2008, burglary is down from 91 offences to 83. Use of an offensive weapon has fallen by 33 per cent and the number of thefts from a motor vehicle has fallen by 8 per cent.

Meanwhile fewer people are worrying about crime in the area, according to a recent council survey. In the poll, 52 per cent of respondents said they worry about crime in Shepherds Bush - down 9 per cent on last year. 61 per cent of people feel safe at night - up 16 per cent in the past 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)

Fulham bobbies beating crime»
Hammersmith bobbies beating crime»