ONLY 1 IN 8 CRIMES IN LONDON DETECTED - TOPE

9.22.00pm BST (GMT +0100) Wed 22nd Sep 2004

Commenting on the Met Police performance figures, that show that compared with other similar forces, London performed significantly worse in investigating crime, with only 1 in 8 offences detected, Liberal Democrat London Assembly Policing Spokesman, Graham Tope, said:-

"The best deterrent to crime is the expectation of being caught. The Met's lack of success in detecting crime appears to be directly linked to the lack of trust and confidence the police in the capital have with Londoners. The priority for police chiefs must be to work with the community to encourage the public to come forward with the information to catch criminals.

"However, the complex and confusing spidergrams tell people very little about whether police are really performing up to scratch."

ENDS