Violent crime in London down by quarter with 24 fewer homicides amid Metropolitan Police crackdown

New “violence suppression units” launched by the Met last May contributed by carrying out thousands of arrests and hundreds of weapons seizures.

(PA)

More than 3,810 suspected violent criminals were arrested and 930 weapons seized in a series of Met operations last year to prevent killings and stabbings, Scotland Yard announced today.

The force said the purge - helped by the restrictions on movement imposed because of the coronavirus pandemic - had also led to the arrest of 521 “county lines” holders and associates who have been responsible for supplying drugs in London and other parts of the country and the dismantling of 281 of their criminal networks.

New “violence suppression units” launched by the Met last May contributed by carrying out thousands of arrests and hundreds of weapons seizures.

Scotland Yard said the overall result was a 26 per cent fall in violent crime in London during 2020, including 24 fewer homicides with the latest annual death toll of 126 down significantly on the 150 killings in 2019.

There was also an accompanying drop in the number of young Londoners aged under 25 being injured in attacks.

Other offenders were given gang injunctions and criminal behaviour orders or referred to diversion schemes in further efforts to suppress violence and give young Londoners involved in it a chance to switch to law-abiding lives.

But as detectives continued to investigate London’s latest teenage killing - a fatal stabbing in Islington on Monday - the force warning that the fight against violence will have to continue at an intense level to reduce the risk of further bloodshed this year.

Commander Jane Connors, who is the Met’s lead for tackling violence, said: “Our focus remains firmly on reducing violent crime in all its forms.

“I am proud of the achievements of our officers and staff in bearing down on violent crime despite the challenges of the pandemic.

“Even when faced with the risk of catching the virus themselves, our officers continued to be out there on the streets.

“But we cannot continue this success alone. We need information from the public about those who commit violent acts, who carry weapons and threaten others.”

Scotland Yard conceded that there was “a clear link” between the fall in violent crime last year and the reduction in people’s movement caused by the pandemic stay at home edicts.

Crimes such as robbery- which occur on the street - had dropped as a result.

But the force said that at the same time it had used the opportunity to target prolific offenders, who were more likely to be at home, and to “infiltrate violence hotspots” to detect those who had gone there to carry out offences.

It added that a series of special operations - codenamed Winter Nights, Pandilla and Sceptre, which targets knife crime in particular - had also been at the forefront of this year’s crackdown and together had led to more than 3,810 suspected violent criminals being arrested, 930 weapons seized and 60 “vulnerable individuals” referred to diversion schemes.

@martinbentham

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