Chief Inspector Mark Lawrence presented an overview of police performance.  He outlined that the police is performing well and that crime in Merton has decreased over the last 12 months. There have been pleasing reductions in burglary, robbery and theft from motor vehicle.  Burglaries involving Asian Jewellery still remain a problem but have fallen.

Hate crime statistics are now being separated and there is a new flag for Tamil related crime. Race crime is relatively low in Merton.  50% of perpetrators of Islamophobic crimes are being charged.

CI Lawrence talked generally about policing matters including international concerns such as people travelling to Syria, which has resulted in an increase in counter terrorism work and Channel referrals.

Confidence in policing in Merton has decreased by 2% compared to the same period last year but remains 7% higher than the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) average. The decrease is because people in Merton perceive that crime and ASB are more of a problem than they did in the previous year.

The Satisfaction statistics show that the gap between white and BME victims of crime has grown.  Satisfaction for white victims of crime is currently 85% compared to 76% for BME victims of crime.  Merton was previously best in the MPS by a considerable margin and some months saw BME victims more satisfied than white victims.  The drop is believed to be linked to violent crime where victims are not satisfied with the overall result of the criminal investigation.

Questions

What effect will the Crime and Disorder Act have – how will the police cope?

In Wimbledon there have been incidents of bag snatching.

CI Lawrence replied that the police have not seen an increase in pick pocketing but burglaries have increased because people are working in teams.  He urged the JCC members to call 999 if they see any suspicious behaviour.

The legislation does not present any significant challenge, the main change relates to anti-social behaviour.  A police officer will be based in the civic centre in the New Year.

There are more police in the area and the officers are being used intelligently with some officers being proportionately based in Mitcham.

How many burglaries result in recovery?  There has been a decrease in the percentage of those taken to justice because the way people are charged has changed.  10% of burglaries are solved.

Why are Islamophobic crimes so high and anti-semetic crimes so low? There is a higher Islamic community in the borough.  It could also be because of greater publicity, higher reporting.

Could there be under reporting of hate crime? Hate crime is recorded according to what the victim thinks. 

It was suggested that the JCC and other groups could act as Third Party   reporting sites.

Is there an officer working with gangs or young people on drugs from the BAME/Refugee communities? There is a Youth Engagement Coordinator.  Also the Youth Offending service works with the Youth Offending Team.  The police also have Safer Schools officers working with schools to prevent gangs and youth violence.

What is the impact of the One Stop Shop on the increase in Domestic Violence figures? The numbers has increased because the One Stop Shop is working well.

Will Merton be affected by future cuts? CI Lawrence replied that he is not sure how the cuts will affect us locally – but he policing model across London may have to change.

There is concern about the increase in motor vehicle and domestic violence crimes how can communities help the police? 5% of vehicle thefts are motor cycle or mopeds which may be attributable to young people.

Concern was expressed about the closure of Safer Neighbourhood Offices. CI Lawrence clarified that they are still being used and are open Wednesday and Thursday evenings and on Saturday.  They will remain until the election because it is a commitment from the Mayors Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC).