The Mayor of London Boris Johnson today welcomed the news that business crime is falling across the city as he visited Chinatown’s thriving retail district in central London to mark Chinese New Year celebrations.
Over the past year Westminster has seen an eight per cent drop in shoplifting, theft, burglary and robbery in businesses across the borough. Bexley, Greenwich, Enfield, Lewisham and Waltham Forest, are amongst the boroughs with the highest recorded fall in business crime (between 12–15 per cent). Overall across London there has been a 3.4 per cent drop with 2,736 fewer crimes reported.
The Mayor of London Boris Johnson said: "Despite the challenges, London is getting safer. Not only is overall crime down but the fall in business crime is great news for companies and particularly poignant during the tough economic climate. Our hard working police officers are working with traders to target the criminals who cost business millions in losses every year through theft and robbery. We’re getting some real results and we will continue to step up our efforts in the fight against crime."
The largest reduction has been in business robbery and theft from shops– commonly known as shoplifting, with an 11 per cent fall. Although some boroughs have seen small increases, most areas have benefited from targeted police initiatives with local retailers on crime prevention and security measures.
Town centre based police officers have consulted widely with businesses in 2011 to identify and target their top crime concerns which include: anti-social behaviour, accessibility and visibility of the police, commercial theft/shoplifting, other theft and street crime/robbery.
The Mayor met business owners from some of the 200 companies run by the Chinese community in Chinatown during the New Year celebrations marking the Year of the Dragon, in Trafalgar Square today. ENDS
Notes to editors
As well as the Chinese New Year celebrations, the Mayor is backing a variety of events across the capital throughout the year, including especially created events that will contribute to the London 2012 Festival. More information can be found at the recently launched website www.molpresents.com. The Mayor has a video message for Chinese New Year on his YouTube site www.youtube.com/user/MayorsOfficeLondon?feature=mhee