Contents

Appendix A - Serious violence crime data and context

This appendix is refreshed annually and contributed to in part by the JSA. 

Annual comparable data will be compared to gauge the direction of travel of serious violence offences and provide evidence on the impact of the strategy.

Knife crime offences20192020202120222023No. difference
on previous year		% difference
on previous year
Knife crime207166168192232+40+20
Knife crime with injury5351497173+2+3
Knife injury victims (under 25 years old)2414152637+11+42

Source: Met.police.uk

The table above shows that total knife crime offences in Bexley have steadily increased over the past two years since the ending of any Covid-19 restrictions, with a total of 232 offences in 2023 and 192 offences in 2022, an increase of 20%. This is also an increase on the 207 knife crime offences in 2019 of 12%. In addition, there has been an increase of knife crime offences across London of 17.1% in 2023 (14,841 offences) compared to 2022 (12,679 offences). This is, however, a decrease on the 15,620 knife crime offences in 2019 of 5%.

Knife crime ‘with injury’ offences in Bexley have increased by 38% over the past four years, from a total of 53 offences in 2019 to 73 offences in 2023. We have seen a 3% increase in the past year (73 offences in 2023 compared to 71 in 2022). Across London, the number of knife crime ‘with injury’ offences have seen a 6% decrease in the past four years and a 5% increase in the past year, with 3762 offences in 2023 and 3589 offences in 2022.

When we look at Knife Injury Victims (under 25 years old), we can see a large increase of 42% over last year, a rise from 26 to 37 victims. Also, just as concerning is the fact that the percentage of all Knife Crime Injury Victims that are under 25 years old is now 50%. This compares to 36% in 2022.

To put these knife crime figures for Bexley into context, they represent just 1.6% of the total London knife offence figures in 2023.  Not being complacent however, this is a percentage that the CSP don’t wish to see increase and will monitor closely. Indeed, our long-term percentage increase bucks the pan-London trend. This could be due to the dispersal of serious violence offences into the borough from other more targeted areas, less funding support for a borough that continually performs well against other boroughs or perhaps effected by an increasing transient population or housing placements into the borough.

Major crime category20192020202120222023No. difference
on previous year		% difference
on previous year
Burglary17611030757795921+126+16
Drugs741826905764712-52-7
Robbery383309188264352+88+33
Violence Against The Person (VATP)53085309534657556000+245+4%

Source: Met.police.uk

The table above shows year-on-year comparison data for offences that have a crossover into the serious violence strategy themes. In 2023, we have seen the highest percentage change for Burglary and Robbery offences, however against 2019 figures we see a reduction of 47% and 8% respectively. The marked reduction in Burglary for 2020 and 2021 is due to less people leaving their homes during lockdown, and since then, people's working patterns have changed little. We have seen a slight increase in Violence Against the Person (VATP) offences in 2023 with 6000 offences, compared to 2022 (5755 offences).

As the drugs market is a recognised key driver for violent crime, gangs and Organised Crime Groups, a co-ordinated, multi-agency approach to tackling this themed area is being led through the Governments 10 year drug strategy ‘From harm to hope’. Locally, this is being delivered by the Bexley Combating Drugs Partnership (CDP) Board. This looks at the three key areas of Supply, Demand and Treatment and is creating a Joint Strategic Assessment and associated action plan to direct and assist partners in its delivery.

Gun crime offences20192020202120222023No. difference
on previous year		% difference
on previous year
Gun crime4126273730-7-19
Lethal barrel discharge35443-1-25
Gun crime - personal robbery32223+1+50

Source: Met.police.uk

The above table shows year-on-year comparison data for gun crime offences. Thankfully, offence numbers in this area are low, and in 2023, we saw a reduction in gun crime of 19% and a 25% reduction in Lethal Barrel Discharges. Gun Crime (personal robbery) was up 50%, although the numbers were very low – up 1 to 3 offences. Across London, there was an increase in Gun Crime of 3% in 2023, with 1,462 offences. This means that Bexley’s offence figures in this area represent 2% of all London Gun Crime offences.

As mentioned, Bexley is not a named ‘gang borough’ where extra resources have been provided to tackle gangs and serious violence. A consequence of this is that gang activity can be displaced to ‘quieter’ neighbouring boroughs. However, since the Southeast BCU was created, Bexley has benefitted from improved joint working with the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS). This includes enhanced information sharing, data collection and the deployment of resources across all three boroughs based on threat, risk, and harm.