27 March (Part 1) - Total War on Crime
There
was another meeting of the Bexley Community Police Engagement Group last night
and the subject under discussion was sentencing policy. There were speakers from
the Sentencing Council, the London Probation Trust and Bexleyheath police in the
shape of Superintendent Gowen. The meeting was ably chaired by Richard Mann of
the BCPEG. Interesting though they were I do not intend to cover what was said
by the out of borough guests, this site is Bexley-is-Bonkers not the Sentencing
Council is Bonkers, not that there was any suggestion that they are, except perhaps
their faith in being totally independent of government. Who pays their salaries?
Superintendent Gowen gave us some figures comparing Bexley crime with elsewhere.
As you have heard before, it is among the lowest in London. He said that
Business Robberies were up 36% on a year ago and Personal Robberies by 11·7% but
the numbers were relatively small and the latter was caused by a large
scale robbery of many mobile phones from just one bus load of children.
Residential Burglary was down 24%. There are fewer than ten reported crimes each
year per 1,000 residents in Bexley.
On Motor Crime Bexley was second best to Kingston upon Thames. Mr. Gowen managed
to work his Commissioner’s slogan of ’Total War on Crime’ into his talk and not
long afterwards councillors Seymour and Downing who had been present got up and
left. I was told Read was there and also left but I did not see that for myself.
You are spared more statistics because my hand-out
was borrowed by someone who shall be nameless who promptly lost it! The next
BCPEG meeting will be at the Civic Offices at 7 p.m. on 28th May. The subject is
‘Preparing for the Olympics’. A guide to holidaying on the cheap overseas perhaps?