Havering’s knife crime increases by 85% in three years

Knife crime statistics in Havering. Picture: Infogram (Image: Infogram)

Statistics obtained by the borough’s assembly member Keith Prince show the number of offences have leapt from 188 in 2016/17 to 348 in 2018/19, over the same period two years later.

Mr Prince said: “These horrifying statistics go to show that Sadiq Khan’s crime epidemic isn’t just confined to inner London; it’s also having a devastating impact on outer London boroughs like Havering too.

“The awful murder of Jodie Chesney highlighted the cruel and tragic impact of soaring levels of knife crime.

“Behind the statistics are real victims – sons, daughters, mothers, fathers, brothers and sisters.

“It is now incumbent on the mayor to finally get a grip on this problem.”

Instances of people injured by knives have also increased by 40pc, while the number of robberies that are linked to knife crimes have quadrupled from three to 14 over the same period.

Mr Prince is now calling for more action to be taken by the Mayor of London.

“Khan has a track record of complacency when it comes to tackling the knife crime crisis”, Mr Prince said.

“He has consistently splurged millions on City Hall bureaucrats, PR and culture instead of giving the police the resources they need.

“Conservative assembly members at City Hall have put forward a fully-costed plan which sets out how the Mayor could cut the waste and use the money to invest in nearly 1400 new police officers.

“It beggars belief that this mayor rejected this plan entirely.”

In response, a spokeswoman from the Mayor of London’s office said: “Tackling violent crime is Sadiq Khan’s number-one priority and he is showing real leadership in the face of staggering Government cuts to the police and youth services that have left London with one hand tied behind its back.

“Sadiq is focusing both on catching the criminals committing violent crime – by funding the Met’s new Serious Violent Crime Taskforce from City Hall – and tackling the underlying causes of crime – with the new Violence Reduction Unit.

“This is an extremely serious issue and the people of Havering deserve better than these false claims and deliberate mistruths from the assembly member.

“If he wants actually to help tackle violent crime in Havering perhaps he should instead lobby the Government to reverse the staggering cuts to the police and youth services that everyone knows has contributed to the rise in violent crime across the UK.”