The leader of Havering Council has said keeping residents safe remains one of its top priorities after a stabbing in Romford yesterday.
The Met Police were called to the Brewery's car park at 12.53pm on Tuesday (February 20) to reports of an injured man.
They found a 23-year-old with stab injuries and he was rushed to hospital. His condition has not been disclosed.
A man was arrested in the evening in connection with the stabbing and was taken into custody.
The Met said it appeared to be an isolated incident with the victim and suspect being known to each other.
Read More: Romford Brewery stabbing: Town urged to 'pull together'
The Recorder contacted Havering Council for its response, and leader Ray Morgon said he was “deeply sorry to hear about the terrible incident”.
The council, he said, is working with the police by using its CCTV to review any footage of the incident.
He added: “Our thoughts go out to all those affected. Unfortunately, we are continuing to see these incidents amongst young people, but Havering is still one of the safest places in London."
As per Met Police statistics, between December 2022 and December 2023, while the average number of offences across London per 1,000 people was 124.2, the figure for Havering stood at around 100.
The average in Barking and Dagenham for this period was 128.8 per 1,000 people, in Newham 132.6 and in Redbridge 99.1.
In terms of knife crime, while London reported an average of 1.9 such offences per 1,000 people from December 2022 to December 2023, Havering had an average of 1.2.
However, the increase in knife crimes over the same period was at 17% for London and 21% in Havering, suggesting that such crimes have risen over a year.
Knife crimes in Barking and Dagenham during this time were up sharply by 28%, in Newham by 24% and in Redbridge by 15%.
Met Police Superintendent for Havering, Simon Hutchison, had earlier assured Havering's parents that Romford town centre has a dedicated team of officers who work closely with local authorities to carry out intelligence led stop and searches.
Cllr Morgon added: “We can’t comment any further as this is a police investigation, except to say that keeping residents safe still remains one of our top priorities.”
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here