Crime down - but not in Camden

BURGLARY, rape and religious hate crime increased in Camden last year, even as crime fell across London, new police figures show.

The total number of crimes in the borough rose from 33,768 between April 2009 and March 2010 to 34,212 in the last financial year, with an increase in reports of robbery, burglary and rape.

This year there were 1,263 robberies, an increase of 153 on the previous year, while burglaries also increased from 3,282 to 3,347, mostly against businesses.

The figures show a startling increase in reported rape, from 76 to 117. Hate crimes also rose significantly, from 422 in 2009-10 to 533 last year.

Camden’s increasing crime was in contrast to London as a whole. The Met says the figures show a 17 per cent decrease in city-wide crime since 2000-01.

Crime fell in the neighbouring districts of Barnet and Haringey, with both showing a decrease in violent, racist and homophobic crime. In Barnet, violent incidents fell from 4,858 to 4,438, while the decrease in Haringey was 211, from 5,105 to 4,894.

Police Commander Simon Pountain said: “What I can say is that our officers are here for London, working every day to prevent and detect crime in order to make the city safer.”