Burglaries and robberies down in end of year police figures but violence is on the rise

Crimes such as burglary, robbery and vehicle offences have decreased by more than 10 per cent over the last year, but violence in the borough is on the rise.

The 9.9 per cent increase in violence with injury has been attributed to an increase in reporting of domestic violence, but Redbridge Police say these provisional figures will be finalised later this month.

Despite an increase in burglaries in the Chadwell ward, total burglaries have fallen by 13.6 pc, with residential offences decreasing by 15.3pc, according to the figures.

Robberies came down by 12.8 pc, with personal robberies falling by 12 pc, and theft from person offences decreased even further, with a fall of 24.3 pc.

Domestic violence with injury increased by 24.5pc, with non-domestic violence with injury rising slightly with 1.7pc.

Other decreases included theft from motor vehicles (17.9pc), theft of motor vehicles (22.3pc) and criminal damage (6.7pc).

Det Supt Ellie O’Connor said: “There are some really good figures here and the domestic violence figures give me some hope, as it means from all the analysis we have done that victims are coming forward.

“But we will not be complacent; we will continue to drive down crime in Redbridge.”

Cllr Shoaib Patel (Liberal Democrat, Valentines) said: “I welcome the figures and the domestic violence [figure] is not all bad as historically it was under-reported - people were suffering in silence.”

A spokesman for Redbridge Council said the Redbridge Safer Communities Partnership has undertaken action such as placing extra resources in key areas to deter thieves.

The council also appointed a domestic violence coordinator last year to work on behalf of the partnership organisations.

Det Supt O’Connor said: “We were the eighth safest borough in the last census and we think we can improve on that if we work together.”