March crime: the first recessionary causes?

The March crime figures have just come out and they show a slight rise across Putney, Roehampton and Southfields fuelled in no small part by an across-the-board increase in incidents of robbery.

The other property crime categories: burglary and theft/handling are less clear cut: both saw increases in three of the six wards but declines or no change in three others.

I flag this up time and again, but crime deteriorated in Thamesfield - Putney town centre - again. The fact that town centres all over the place attract crime is a concern but what often isn't appreciated is that town centre crime - pickpocketing, stealing from shops and general street crimes - drives other crimes.

That can be seen in these figures. Why else would Thamesfield have twice the rate of burglaries than any other ward in Putney? Yes, it's generally more affluent than some parts of our constituency but not more so than others - large parts of West Putney for instance which include the leafy avenues behind Putney Hill.

One reason surely is that if you're likely to rob a shop, or steal from a passer-by, you're also likely to have the capacity to burgle a house. And if that type of criminal is attracted to an area, it is little wonder that crimes of similar association increase.

That's yet another reason why much more resource - Police and Council - needs to be directed to Thamesfield. Given that police numbers are now back above the levels they were in 1993, there is no excuse for this not to happen.

For those of you new to the table above, green figures represent numbers that have either fallen or stayed the same since last month; red those that have risen.

Last month's crime stats report is here.