There have been several horrific murders of teenagers in Croydon over the past year. Reports of thefts of cars and other properties are common on local social media. In East Croydon, people are concerned about the activities of people with drug dependency issues.

These real issues may give the impression that crime incidents have risen, year on year. However, the number of crime incident reports instead was lower in the six months 1st June- 30th November 2023 (compared to the same period in 2022). The main categories of crime are

• Violence & Sexual Offences (average 9 incidents a week – down 12%)
• Anti-social behaviour (average 9 incidents a week – down 18 %)
• Vehicle Crime (average 4 incidents per week – 24 % down) 
• Burglary (average 1-2 incidents per week – 23% down)
• Robbery (average 1-2 incidents per week – 56%)

Details of Met Police crime levels for Addiscombe West ward can be found here by selecting the Borough, and ward fields in this database: https://public.tableau.com/app/profile/metropolitan.police.service/viz/MonthlyCrimeDataNewCats/Coversheet

In the last SNT ward panel meeting held in January, Addiscombe West Ward Safer Neighbourhood Team Police Sergeant Scott Jones put the recent decline down to receiving better information from local residents and businesses. This is much more effective than increasing police patrols which only displaces criminal activity to wherever the police are absent (and the police cannot be everywhere at the same time!).

Addiscombe West Safer Neighbourhood Team Police  therefore encourage residents and local businesses to record as much specific detail when reporting incidents, as good information provides the best way to keep crime levels low. 

Please contact ECCO on mail@eastcroydon.org.uk if you are interested in attending the next Addiscombe West SNT Police resident’s ward panel or have a question regarding policing and crime in the ward .