The latest crime figures from the Met. show that there was a 7.2% reduction in the total number of criminal offences in Sutton.
The reduction in many of these offences came as a result of year-long campaigns led by Sutton's Safer Neighbourhood Teams supported by operations from Sutton's Crime Squad.
There were increases in rape, domestic abuse and racist and religious hate crime but, paradoxically these were seen as encouraging as, in the past, they have been worryingly under reported offences. Places such as Sutton's Domestic Violence One Stop Shop held at the Baptist Church every Wednesday, make it much easier to report it confidentially. Here, since it was set up in 2011 more than 500 victims of domestic abuse have been helped and supported.
When speaking about the latest figures, Sutton Borough Commander, DCS Guy Ferguson, was quoted as saying "We have a responsibility to encourage victims of under-reported crimes to report offences- and a rise in rape, domestic abuse and hate crime offences suggest that more victims are having the confidence to come an report these serious crimes to us, which can only be a good thing.
I am particularly pleased with how residents have supported our police officers throughout the year. For example, this support has been shown through the increased membership in Neighbourhood Watch in Sutton, which has grown from 900 members in 2009 to 4,000 members currently.
We have the highest figures in London for Victim satisfaction and enjoy some of the highest figures in the Met. for confidence in policing. We also have the highest conviction rates at Court for domestic abuse.
Sutton is low crime Borough and one of the safest boroughs in London. We want to make Sutton even safer - an we know that the help of residents will continue to be crucial."
If you would like to help keep Sutton one of London's safest boroughs, then why not consider joining your local Neighbourhood Watch.
