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Mayor of London > Mayor's Priorities > Crime

Crime

The Mayor took up his role as Chair of the Metropolitan Police Authority in October 2008.

Policing
Policing on public transport
Gun and knife crime
Alcohol and drugs
Victims of crime
Business crime
Mayor's Fund
Public information
Designing out crime

Policing

Cutting excessive form filling for police

The Mayor will lobby the government to reduce the amount of time police spend on paperwork. When the Mayor assumes the Chair of the Metropolitan Police Authority (MPA) he will make it a strategic priority for the police to reduce the amount of time lost to form filling.

Support scrapping of stop and account form and stop and search form

The Mayor will use the influence of his office to lobby the government to scrap the stop and account and stop and search forms.

Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs)

The Mayor believes that Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) play a valuable part in policing London and wants to extend their powers and give them more responsibility. He wants PCSOs to relieve police officers of some of the paperwork weighing them down, so they can spend more time on the beat. Police operational issues are the responsibility of the Commissioner, and the Mayor will work closely with him on this and related issues.

Earn Your Travel Back

Launched in August 2009, this Mayoral scheme provides the opportunity for the minority of under 18s who lose their free travel privilege due to bad behaviour to earn it back by volunteering to work on environmental projects around the capital. It encourages young people to respect and value their free travel privilege and learn about the pleasure that can be had from volunteering work. Participants will not only benefit from social development, as they will have contributed to their local community, but will have also been introduced to future volunteering opportunities.

Review of police recruitment

The Mayor wants London’s police force to represent its diverse population. He will work to ensure that police recruitment policies reflect and pursue this aim, so that more people from BME backgrounds and more women are in the police force.

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Policing public transport

Increasing Safer Transport Teams

The Mayor is committed to cracking down on ‘minor’ crime to drive out more serious crime. To this end, he will increase the uniformed presence on public transport, particularly buses, and will add 440 extra PCSOs to Safer Transport Teams. The Mayor is committed to rolling this out in the early stages of his administration.

Watch a video of Boris in Bexley at his announcement of 30 locations across London that will benefit from new transport policing teams.

More British Transport Police officers

To clamp down on low-level crime and disorder at suburban rail stations, 50 new British Transport Police officers will patrol the worst stations in outer London. The Mayor is committed to rolling this out in the early stages of his administration.

Watch a video of Boris announcing extra transport police for outer London stations.

More officers for Transport Operational Command Unit (TOCU) Cab Enforcement Unit

To continue the crackdown on illegal minicabs – whose drivers are often linked to serious crime including sexual assault – the Mayor will allocate 34 extra fully-warranted police officers to the Cab Enforcement Unit. This will allow an increase in active operations to clear areas of illegal minicabs and will boost visible enforcement.

Crackdown on fare evasion

To reduce high levels of fare evasion, particularly on buses, the Mayor will increase the powers of Revenue Protection Inspectors so they can demand the name and address of fare dodgers, instead of only requesting them as they can at present. The Mayor has instructed TfL to investigate how this could be achieved.

Live CCTV trial on buses

The Mayor has made a commitment to increase passenger safety and prevent crime on buses. He will trial live CCTV for six months on a selection of the worst bus routes. This will allow the police to view a reported incident instantly and respond accordingly.

Banning alcohol on the Tube

From 1 June, drinking alcohol on public transport in London will be banned. The Mayor believes this measure is an important part of cracking down on crime on public transport.

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Gun and knife crime

New handheld scanners and knife arches

The Mayor will prioritise a crackdown on gun and knife crime by equipping the police to catch greater numbers of weapon-carrying individuals. He will increase the likelihood of such individuals getting caught by funding more handheld scanners and knife arches, to be used mainly at transport hubs.

Funding for community sports projects

The Mayor will use London Development Agency money to fund community sports projects that will give children and young people structure and a disciplined environment. In turn this will deter more young people from crime and help to tackle child obesity.

Improving youth opportunities and preventing violence

The Mayor is seeking feedback on his proposals, entited Time for Action, to improve youth opportunities and prevent violence through a programme for action.

Time for Action

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Alcohol and drugs

Returning seized drug assets to MPS

The Mayor believes that more drug assets seized in London should be returned to London. He will lobby to ensure that the proceeds of drug crime in London are re-invested in the form of drug education and drug treatment programmes in the capital.

Action on under-age drinking

The Mayor will publish league tables to 'name and shame' councils that do not take action on premises selling out of hours or to under-18s. The Mayor believes that binge drinking is a major problem in London and, given the well established link between violent crime and alcohol, wants councils to use their licensing powers to crack down on establishments caught breaking licensing laws.

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Victims of crime

New Rape Crisis Centres

The Mayor will provide funding for four Rape Crisis Centres across London. He will also secure the future of London's only current Rape Crisis Centre in Croydon.

Following the Victims' Code of Practice

The Mayor believes that public confidence in the police can be boosted by ensuring victims are consistently dealt with to the highest standards. This could also encourage more people to report crime, especially low-level incidents of disorder that often go unreported. The Mayor will work with the Commissioner to achieve this, and to ensure that police satisfaction rates are consistently improved, particularly in relation to victim support.

More youth victim support mentors

A recent survey for the Youth Justice Board found that teenagers were over three times more likely to report a crime to their friends than the police. Young victims of crime would vastly benefit from the support of mentors their own age, and a greater number of such mentors would also encourage young people to report crime more often.

Supporting the greater use of restorative justice

Restorative justice has a crucial role to play in victim support and reducing recidivism. Traditional justice is about punishing the perpetrators, but restorative justice is about perpetrators making amends directly to the victims they have harmed. The Mayor will work with the police and voluntary groups to support and encourage the greater use of restorative justice as part of his plan to help the victims of crime.

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Business crime

Non-emergency number for businesses to report crime

The Mayor wants to make it easier for businesses to report crime. Provision of a non-emergency number would allow businesses to get a speedier response to incidents, which would make it easier to deal with insurance issues, increase confidence in police and encourage more businesses to report such crimes.

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Mayor's Fund for London

A major part of the fight against violent crime is to give young Londoners structures and discipline to help keep them off the streets. Therefore, the Mayor plans to set up the first Mayor's Fund for London, which will harness finances from London's wealth creators to support voluntary groups that are changing lives. This is in addition to the £79 million provided by government for the London Youth Offer.

www.mayorsfundforlondon.org.uk

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Public information

Crime mapping

The Mayor believes that the public should have access to better information about crime levels in their local area, so they can more effectively hold their local police commanders to account. The Mayor will seek to make the existing crime maps available to the public as soon as possible.

Monthly public meetings with Borough Commanders

In order to increase police accountability and boost performance, the Mayor will ask Borough Commanders to hold monthly open public meetings, to be well-publicised in the local community.

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Designing out crime

Deterring crime in suburban stations

The Mayor believes that improved design of public spaces can enhance passenger safety and deter crime. To this end, he will work with train operating companies to improve the design of stations in outer London by providing well-lit areas, clearing up graffiti quickly and securing exit and entry points.

New housing developments

The Mayor acknowledges the important role design can play in preventing crime. He will seek to ensure that the design of new housing developments will incorporate safety features like secure access, well-lit areas and green spaces.

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