A newly published report has shown a further decrease in the amount of crime in the Chiswick area. The report by the Community Safety team at Hounslow Council shows that recorded crime in the Chiswick area fell by 3% in 2004 with total notified offences of 4,615.

However there was a sharp increase in the number of burglaries in the area which rose by 15%. Chiswick remains the part of the borough hardest hit by this type of crime.

Violent crime has risen but the increase was mostly the less serious offence of harassment, which whilst threatening, does not result in physical injury. There were only three incidents of Grievous Bodily Harm in this category during 2004 compared to 11 the year before. There were 615 reported incidents of violent crime during the year up by 5% The amount of violent crime in the area remains below the Borough average.

Street crime which would include 'boys on bikes' bag and mobile phone snatch type offences has fallen sharply, down by 16% Motor vehicle crime also fell over the course of the year - 60% of offences in this category are thefts from the vehicle. Motor vehicle crime remains above the borough average.

An increase in drugs related offences is claimed to be a positive trend as an indicator of Police being more proactive in finding and arresting drug users locally.

The Community Safety Team has also written a report on CCTV in Chiswick for review by the Chiswick Area Committee at a forthcoming monitoring meeting. It states that CCTV will be installed at the Mawson underpass near the Hogarth Roundabout and Fullers brewery in the next few months. The protracted negotiations with Transport for London over the installation of CCTV in Turnham Green station also look to be drawing to a close and the cameras should be in place in the next month according to the report. However, there is no funding currently available for other CCTV projects in Chiswick. The Home Office funding that allowed the installation of CCTV in all the other town centres is no longer available and section 106 money cannot be used for this purpose.

March 17, 2005