On 20th February, I hosted a Westminster Hall debate to raise concerns of Theft and Robbery in Carshalton and Wallington. I am grateful to Rt Hon Chris Philp MP, Minister of State for Crime, Policing and Fire for joining me in this debate and updating me on what the Government have in place to address growing concerns of theft and robbery in our constituency as well as around London and the country.
It was great to see the Government, in collaboration with police forces, have developed a Retail Crime Action Plan aimed to address the rising tide of theft, providing guidelines for both the police and retailers on reporting and addressing such crimes.
As we are all aware, the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, as London’s Police and Crime Commissioner oversees policing and crime in London, and it is a sad fact that the last 8 years he has been elected as Mayor, we have seen crime on our streets go up and up. The Labour Mayor has now pledged to take steps to address specific issues, such as mobile phone theft, convening and meeting with industry stakeholders to explore strategies for reducing such crimes. It seems that the Mayor, having been asleep at the wheel during his time in charge, is now trying to put the toothpaste back in the tube.
The Met have made excellent steps in trying to combat theft, robbery, and other crimes in London, and I commend their commitment to dealing with all burglaries incredibly seriously. It is a shame that the Mayor’s ineptitude meant he failed to recruit an additional thousand police officers into the Met through Government funding.
I asked the Minister to set out what further work is being done by the Home Office to tackle robbery and theft in this country.
The Minister reassured me by sharing that London, despite the Mayor's failures, has a record number of police. The Minister did enlighten me on some measures the Government have taken to work with the police to help fight crimes in London. There has been an agreement with the police, including the Met, to always follow all lines of inquiry for all crimes where they exist. Minor crimes do not exist and all crimes are taken extremely seriously.
I’m glad to see the commitment from this Conservative Government to pick up the work that Sadiq Khan has let slide during his time in office. London deserves a Mayor who actually does their job, and cares about the people of London.
