Chiswick Police are claiming success in their fight against crime after the release of new figures showing significant falls in certain types of crime.

Street crime, which includes robbery and bag snatching, fell from 208 incidents in the financial year 2004/5 (March 31-April 1) to 177 for the same period in 2005/6, a reduction of 14.9%. Over the Metropolitan Police area as a whole this type of crime has actually risen by 11 per cent with Ipod thefts being blamed for the upsurge.

Metropolitan Police statistics also show Chiswick Police officers enjoying success against car thieves. There were 675 reported thefts from vehicles in the financial year 2005/6, compared to 809 in the same period 2004/5, a fall of 16.6 per cent.

Insp David Osborne, of Chiswick Police, said “These are excellent results and mean we have achieved two significant crime reduction targets. Cutting motor vehicle crime has been the subject of increased police activity, particularly in recent months. High visibility patrols and crime prevention measures have been used to good effect."

Non-residential burglary has increased. There were six more reported crimes this year, compared with last although this is on the back of substantial decreases in previous years.

Insp Osborne added “While we are pleased we have achieved two of our three key targets, there is no room for complacency and we will be striving to address problem areas in the coming year. I will be looking to take lessons learnt, and last year’s good practice forward to continue to reduce crime and make Chiswick a safer place to live, work and visit."

He heralded the introduction of Safer Neighbourhoods Teams to Chiswick as putting local police in a good position to achieve further improvements next year.

As part of their ongoing work, police in Chiswick are also focussing on recent crime trends, including an increase in cycle thefts where poor quality locks are forced, and theft of expensive items – including laptop computers, mobile phones and satellite navigation units – from cars.

May 11, 2006