We have spent much of tonight talking about Labour’s failure to manage the town’s finances properly. However, this report highlights how Labour has failed the town in another important policy areas.
Since Labour took political control of Croydon in 2014 the overall level of crime has been on the increase. This is in stark contrast to a crime reduction under the previous Conservatives administration. Levels of violent crime have increased by a staggering 64%, vehicle crime is up 42% and public order offences have increased by 135%.
Since 2014 Labour has produced two community safety strategies. The key aim of a safety strategy is to set out how the Council, alongside its key partners, are going to reduce crime in Croydon. It is simple Labour’s strategies have failed, the documents are not worth the paper they are written on. Under Labour crime is on the increase and residents in Croydon feel less safe.
This year the Council have a statutory responsibility to publish a new Community Safety Strategy that covers the period 2020 to 2023. However, the local Labour group has a problem, if they publish a new Strategy it will highlight Labour’s complete failure to tackle crime across Croydon.
In one of Cllr. Hamida Ali’s last responsibilities leading the ‘Safer Croydon’ portfolio she took this paper to cabinet on October 25th. For Members who have not had a chance to read the paper let me very briefly outline its content.
It states that Croydon will not have a new Community Safety strategy until 2022 instead it will continue to follow the already failed aims and objectives of the safety strategy first published in 2017.
I want to be very clear here section 6 of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 requires responsible authorities to formulate and implement a Strategy for the reduction of crime and disorder in their area (including anti-social behaviour adversely affecting the local environment) and for combating the misuse of drugs, alcohol and other substances in the area.
This report, published by Cllr. Hamida Ali, is asking individual members to endorse a 2017 Community Safety strategy that has seen overall crime and, specifically drug crime, increase by 39%. The report is also asking you to agree that a new Community Safety Strategy will not be published until 2022.
By voting for this report this evening I believe we could be breaking the law, specifically our responsibilities under section 6 of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998.
