“Focus remains on violent crime,” says police commander for Croydon and Merton

By Tara O’Connor, Local Democracy Reporter

Assurances that violent crime is still top of the agenda for police in Croydon have been made by the area commander.

A week-long crackdown on knife crime saw more than 60 people arrested across the South Area Basic Command Unit (BCU) which covers Croydon, Sutton and Merton.

Offences included knife crime, violence and burglaries.

The force took part in Operation Sceptre, a national week of action focussed on knife crime and violence, between March 23 and 29.

Officers in Croydon, Sutton and Bromley carried out 230 weapons sweeps in parks, streets and open spaces, as well as 225 stop and searches.

In a video on Wednesday area commander Dave Stringer said: “Our focus remains on violence, we need to make sure that people are safe in our area whether that is out in the street or at home.

“Coronavirus is an issue that affects us as well as other public services, we’d like to reassure you that we’re still responding to emergency calls, non-emergency calls and anti-social behaviour, so I am confident that anyone out there using our service will not notice any difference.

“I would like to thank everybody for their compliance around government instruction about not leaving home for non-essential purposes and not opening shops and premises that don’t need to be open.

“Obviously that not only prevents infection, but it allows my officers to focus on what they need to focus on, which is making sure that we keep our community safe.”