Labour's Criminal Record

10.16.00am BST (GMT +0100) Tue 17th Jun 2008

Labour stands accused of failing residents in the fight against crime.

Official figures recently released saw three Lambeth wards appear in the list for the highest number of residential burglaries in London in 2007. The wards affected are St. Leonard's (in Streatham) with the highest at 15.96 offences per 1,000 population, followed by Herne Hill at 15.76 and Thurlow Park at 15.61.

Meanwhile a report in today's London Evening Standard shows that robbery levels have soared to a four year high after a Labour crackdown on street crime ran out of cash.Figures show that street robberies rose during the last 3 months of 2006 compared to the same period a year earlier.

Concern among members of the public is rising about drunken behaviour in the wake of Labour's relaxation of the drinking laws and there has been an 11 per cent year-on rise in vandalism.

The only degree of optimism - a slight fall in serious violence - is explained as a statistical aberration caused by different methods of collating the information. The number of fatal shootings in 2006 rose by eight per cent with a high percentage of black teenagers in Lambeth among the victims.

In the wake of these alarming figures police numbers in Lambeth remain under strength, there are plans to close local police stations in Clapham and Streatham and Labour-run Lambeth Council has sacked all its community crime wardens.

Liberal Democrat Spokesperson on Crime Cllr Steve Bradley said, "These are bleak statistics which show that Labour is losing the war against crime. Labour likes to talk big about tackling crime and the fear of crime but the everyday reality of many people living in Lambeth is that crime destroys their quality of life."

Cllr Bradley added, " If all the woolly initiatives and tough talk from Labour meant anything, Lambeth would be one of the safest places on earth. People tell me they want to see more police out on the streets making them feel safe - and so do we.

Cllr Bradley said, " As with so many things, people are discovering that Labour's record on crime is only so much hot air."