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Clampdown on violent crime in Bromley borough

Measures are being taken by the authorities to tackle the pressing issue of violent crime plaguing Bromley.

The Borough of Bromley is praised as one of the top 10 safest in London and, according to statistics published by CrimeRate.co.uk, has a 17% lower regional crime rate than the capital’s average.

But statistics from Police.uk show that total recorded crime in the area saw a spike in April and remains significantly high compared to quarter four of 2023. 

Since September, total recorded crime has reduced, yet the current figure still remains higher than the beginning of the year, with violence, sexual offences, anti-social behaviour and theft being the leading contributors to these figures. 

A Metropolitan Police spokesperson said: “Violent crime has a devastating impact on individuals, their families and the wider community.   

“Our officers are working hard to ensure that the streets of London are safe and we are devoting huge resources into preventing these awful crimes from happening in the first place.” 

“We are working with our partners and the community to target the root causes of these devastating crimes and find long-term solutions.” 

This is borne out in how police are increasingly working with external bodies such as the council and community groups like Neighbourhood Watch to help with crime prevention. 

That strategy is evident from MPS Bromley South on X, who have been consistently posting content of local policing teams working closely with residents and community organisations, such as their ‘Cuppa with a Copper’ session on 29 October. 

October saw a ramp up in public relations in this important period to prevent a slip back to how things were earlier in the year, with posts concerning crime prevention tips for the Bromley area and more detail on knife crime specifically. 

MP for Bromley and Biggin Hill Peter Fortune, who was voted into parliament back in July, has made it a priority to tackle crime in the region since his electoral campaign. 

He said: “Over the last year, total crime has gone up by a quarter, violent crime has gone up by a third and sexual offences have gone up by 50%.” 

Residents of Bromley have been finding intriguing ways to highlight the issue of violent crime and robbery as well.

Back in June, the borough saw the emergence of the ‘Bromley Nightcrawler’, who drew attention on TikTok by making lighthearted content posing as a Spider-man-esque crime-fighting hero determined to keep the streets of Bromley safe.  

The individual, whose identity is unknown, grew their platform on TikTok to almost 11 thousand followers and created quite a wave across social media platforms earlier this year. 

@bromleyuknightcrawler Thx for the support guys i love watching out for u guys❤️#BRMLYNightCrawler #foryou #blowthisup #viraltiktok #vigilante #goviral #viral ♬ original sound – BromleyUKNightCrawler

The last post was 30 September, which showed the individual alongside police who were dealing with a drunk disturbance on Bromley High Street. 

The individual simply claimed he wanted to help the community and keep people safe. 

Only time will tell how effective the authorities’ approach will be at tackling the most prominent types of crime affecting Bromley borough in the long run. 

Those measures appear to be finding a degree of success, but the work is far from over to get the borough’s crime rate back to where it was this time last year. 

Featured image credit: Oliver Partridge

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