Southwark Liberal Democrats have accused the Government of “losing control” as 827,513 of a total 1,238,858 incidents of anti-social behaviour in London went unattended by the police since the beginning of 2019.
In 2022 alone, 163,226 incidents of anti-social behaviour in London went unattended by a police officer – accounting for 70% of all reports made.
The national figures paint a similarly dismal picture, with 63% of cases of anti-social behaviour in England and Wales going unattended.
All figures were obtained by the Liberal Democrats through Freedom of Information requests to all police forces, to which 38 responded.
The shocking new data comes as the Conservative Government looks set to break its trademark promise to recruit 20,000 extra police officers. Police Community Support Officer (PCSO) numbers have also plummeted under the Conservative Party’s watch, with the number of active PCSOs falling by an average of 33% in England and Wales since 2015.
Ahead of May’s local elections, the Liberal Democrats are calling for a return to proper community policing – where officers are visible, trusted and able to focus on preventing and solving crimes.
Southwark Liberal Democrat Community Safety Spokesperson Cllr Jane Salmon said, “It’s clear the Conservative government and the Labour Mayor of London have lost control of anti-social behaviour in London – and their response just isn’t good enough.
Our communities deserve to feel safe walking down their own streets. People should be able to feel that if they fall victim to anti-social behaviour, it will be taken seriously and police will attend.
Instead of more empty promises, it’s time for the Government, the Mayor and the Metropolitan Police to finally commit to proper community policing – where offices are visible, trusted, and able to tackle neighbourhood crime.”
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