9:18am Tuesday 22nd January 2008
By Crystal Wilde
CRIME levels fell in Redbridge from 25,077 recorded in 2006 to 22,664 in 2007 according to figures from the Metropolitan Police but the number of drugs offences has shot up.
The 12 months to November last year saw nearly a ten per cent drop in recorded crime overall and the figures have been hailed as a success by police chiefs in the borough.
Chief Insp Pete Dickson who has just been put in charge of the borough's safer neighbourhood teams said: "Redbridge is having a very successful year. We have achieved massive reductions in most crime and in general Redbridge is a very safe place to be."
According to the figures drug offences are up over 200 per cent in Snaresbrook and Wanstead wards, and by more than 96 per cent in the borough as a whole.
Chief Insp Dickson admitted the figures look alarming, but said most of the changes are due to better reporting of crime and better police strategies.
He added: "The increase in the drugs figures is simply to do with special police work in these areas following concerns from the public."
While the percentage increase in drug offences may be huge, Mr Dickson explained that the actual amount of crime is still relatively small in the borough, with 0.8 reported drug offences per 1000 people for 2006 in Snaresbrook, increasing to only 2.5 per 1000 people in 2007.
Mr Dickson said figures in Wanstead and Snaresbrook could have risen so much in comparison to the rest of the borough due to police operations at their train stations, but says percentages can be very misleading.
"We have to be very wary about percentages as some crimes in the borough only have very low figures, so one or two more can push the percentage up in a big way."
He added: "You have to look behind the percentages to see the real figures if you want to understand what is really going on."
All other crime is down in the borough apart from homicide and robberies on businesses, both of which have risen, with homicide totalling four incidents as opposed to none in 2006. While robberies on businesses have risen 27 per cent, robberies on people have fallen by 27 per cent to 920.
Burglaries are down ten per cent to 2,886, while gun crimes have fallen from 77 to 56.
The borough also has the best sanction detection rate in London, where offenders are identified and dealt with after a crime is recorded, with 29 per cent being bought to justice, exceeding the Met-wide achieved target of 24 per cent.
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