A drop in burglaries and drug-related crime in Redbridge in the last year has been welcomed by police chiefs. Overall crime levels in the borough have reduced slightly year-on-year, data from the Office for National Statistics shows, and burglaries have dropped by 20per cent.
There were 23,444 reported offences during the 12 months to March 2019, down 1pc on the previous year, when 23,646 incidents were recorded. That means there was a rate of 78 crimes per 1,000 residents during 2018-19, below the England and Wales average of 89.
East Area Det Sup Shabnam Chaudhri, pictured, said: "There is a lot of good work going on across Redbridge by our officers and partners and we use a range of tactics, such as days of action, stop and search, weapon sweeps and patrolling the crime 'hot spots'. We will continue to work with community and partners to drive down crime. Our message to those who commit crime is we will track you down, arrest and bring you to justice because we are committed to a safer, stronger Redbridge."
The latest statistics are based on crimes reported to the police, and the ONS urges caution in interpreting some of these figures. Possession of weapons offences in Redbridge rose by five to 164 incidents. These include knives, hand guns and even corrosive acid.
But there were 2,080 residential burglaries reported in 2018-19, down 20pc compared to the previous year, and there have been three murders or manslaughters. Theft in Redbridge, one of the most high volume crimes, also decreased by 4pc and drugs related offences dropped by 9pc.
Criminal damage in the borough, which includes arson and vandalising cars and houses, has gone down, from 1,682 incidents in 2017-18, to 1,544. Violence with injury crimes, which include assault, GBH and wounding, also dropped.
There were 533 sexual offences recorded between April 2018 and March 2019, a 1pc decrease on the previous year, when 536 crimes were reported. There were also 1,553 cases of stalking and harassment reported over the same period.
