Foreword from Cllr Rebecca Harvey, H&F Cabinet Member for Social Inclusion & Community Safety
“While it is not usually a council’s job to fight crime, keeping people safe has always been – and will remain – our priority at Hammersmith & Fulham.
With County Lines drug gangs better organised, crimes against women and girls more prominent than ever and the exploitation and abuse of children up, tackling the roots of crime is an essential part of everything we do in our efforts to create a safer, kinder, stronger borough.
But we know that we can’t do it alone.
We are committed to working closely and collaboratively with our partners within the Community Safety Partnership (CSP) to deliver real change for local people.
The CSP is made up of representatives from the council, police, fire alongside health and probation services.
While we recognise that there are challenges to working effectively in a partnership, this wholistic approach allows us to pool our resources to crack down on crime on all fronts.
Every day, our new 72-strong Law Enforcement Team – the eyes and ears of the council – work closely with the community and the Met Police to free our streets of crime and anti-social behaviour.
We’ve established a Gangs, Violence and Exploitation Unit (GVEU). The team is made up of both council and police officers dedicated to protecting our children and young people and help dismantle local gang networks.
Meanwhile, our coordinated community response to Violence against Women and Girls (VAWG) along with specialist service providers in H&F helps to ensure that survivors can access the support they need and deserve.
This is only a small glimpse into H&F’s comprehensive range of crime fighting services.
Guided by the CSP’s Strategic Assessment 2023, this plan lays out the key challenges for H&F, and the steps the CSP is taking as part of our joint ambition to support victims and bring criminals to justice.
We hope you find it useful.”
Cllr Rebecca Harvey
H&F Cabinet Member for Social Inclusion & Community Safety
On this page, you can find:
- 2022 in Summary
- How did crime change in 2022?
- How does H&F compare?
- Where is crime taking place?
- Our priorities for 2023
- Our plan for 2023/24
2022 in Summary
Last year, we:
- published a new Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy, launched a VAWG Strategic Board and delivered over £100,000 of initiatives to improve women’s safety
- launched a £4.5m CCTV investment programme to enhance, improve and upgrade our CCTV network over the next 5 years
- delivered Operation Nightingale to tackle crime & anti-social behaviour hotspots within Shepherds Bush and Hammersmith Broadway
- maintained funding for the council’s 72 officer strong Law Enforcement Team, with dedicated officers for each ward conducting fortnightly targeted operations
- sustained investment in the Gangs, Violence and Exploitation Unit, working in collaboration with the police to tackle gang crime and protect young people
- saw our ‘Outstanding’ Youth Justice Service recognised as "a dedicated, capable and confident service where children have every opportunity to move away from crime” at a recent inspection.
How did crime change in 2022?
Crime statistics for the period from January to December 2022
Total number of crimes
20,203
-0.2% change previous year
Wards with the highest number of crimes
2,471 Shepherd’s Bush Green
2,462 Hammersmith Broadway
Most common crime
Theft
+2% change previous year
The biggest crime reduction
812 Residential Burglary
-25% change previous year
The overall number of crimes in H&F has been falling since 2019. There were 20,203 offences committed in 2022, a 21% reduction from 2019. Theft and vehicle offences remain the highest offences committed in the borough and accounted for over a quarter of all crimes in 2022 (26%), violence against the person also remains one of the main offences committed accounting for 23%.
The crimes which saw the largest increases from 2021 to 2022 were theft from a motor vehicle (+22%), business burglary for example shoplifting (+18%) and robbery (+12%).
Shepherds Bush and Hammersmith Broadway wards have the highest number of crimes, accounting for almost a quarter of all crimes in the borough. They also feature in the top 10% of all wards in London for total number of offences within one or more crime type.
Positively, residential burglary and drug related offences decreased in 2022 by 25% and 21% respectively. This is also seen in the reduction of bike, moped or e-scooter enabled offences which fell by 22%.
How does H&F compare?
H&F versus London in numbers
Number of crimes:
20,203
25th out of 32 boroughs in London for total volume of crime
24th place previous year based on crime volume
Crime rate per 1000 residents:
110.22
7th place out of 32 boroughs in London
no change from the previous year
% of crime incidents compared to London:
2.4%
H&F 20,203
London 849,098
Crime rates below London average:
Drugs
Robbery
Theft of a motor vehicle
H&F ranks 25th lowest of 32 boroughs in London for total volume of crime. The 20,203 incidents of crimes in the borough equates to 2.4% of London's 849,098 total crime offences in 2022.
When comparing rates of crime per 1,000 residential population, H&F is 13% higher than the London average rate and ranks the 7th highest of 32 boroughs. This is the same position as 2021.
However, H&F has a large daytime population when compared to the residential population. Therefore, when comparing rates of footfall per 1,000, H&F ranks 19th highest of 32 boroughs.
From the compared crime categories, drugs, robbery and theft of a motor vehicle have lower than the London rate per 1,000 residents.
Across the police Basic Command Unit area, Westminster has a significantly higher count of crime, rate per 1,000 population and rate per 1,000 average daily footfall when compared to H&F and Kensington and Chelsea.
Where is crime taking place?
H&F crime at a glance
Wards with the highest number of crimes:
- 2,471 Shepherds Bush Green
- 2,462 Hammersmith Broadway
Wards with highest increases in crime:
- Hammersmith Broadway (+34% )
- Ravenscourt (+16%)
- Shepherds Bush Green (+5.4%)
- Fulham Reach (+4.5%)
Wards with highest fall in crime:
- Wendell Park (-33%)
- Grove (-17%)
- Wormholt (-15%)
- Fulham Town (-12%)
Crime and ASB hotspots
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Hammersmith Broadway and Shepherds Bush Green remain the two wards with the highest volumes of offences, being significantly higher than the other wards in the borough. These two wards accounted for 24% of all offences in 2022 and are in the top 10% of all wards in London for rates and volume of crime for at least one offence for all offences, violence against the person, and sexual offences.
There were four wards which saw an increase in crime between 2021 and 2022, with the largest increase for Hammersmith Broadway (+34%) mainly due to increases in theft of a motor vehicle which went from 124 offences in 2021 to 451 in 2022.
Ravenscourt saw an increase of 16%, however Ravenscourt doesn't have any statistically higher crimes for any major crime group when compared to other boroughs. In real terms there were 124 more offences than last year, these were mainly due to an increase in theft from a motor vehicle.
Our priorities for 2023
Priority: Gangs & Serious Violent Crime
Key figures January to December 22
Violence against the person
- 4,563
- No change compared to last year higher than London rate of crime
Violence with injury
- 1,634
- Increased by 7% compared to last year
Violence offence (under 25 year olds)
- 644
Ambulance call outs where there is a violence related injury
- 438
- Increase from 408 last year
Cuckooing Panel referrals received
- 52
Weapons sweeps completed by Law Enforcement Team
- 7,000
Last year there were over 4.500K offences relating to violence against the person which include a range of offences from minor offences such as harassment and common assault, to serious offences such as murder, actual bodily harm and grievous bodily harm.
For this broader definition, crimes have been falling since 2019 and are similar to that of the previous year. The majority (64%) of these offences relate to non-violence crimes with assault without injury, communication with intent to cause distress, and harassment being the main non-violence offences.
Where offences involved injury, accounting for 36% of violence against the person crimes, there has been a 7% rise in the borough from 2021 to 2022. Two thirds are actual bodily harm. Youth offending and reoffending has been falling, however violence against the person remains the most common crime committed by young people. The GVEU was launched in September 2020, working in collaboration with the police to support vulnerable young people in the borough aged 10 to 25 who are involved in gang-related activity or who are at risk of exploitation or becoming involved in gangs.
Achievements in 2022
- South Fulham Capacity Building project. Following a successful bid to the Violence Reduction Unit (VRU), the GVEU received £93,000 to deliver projects to help build resilience to violence in South Fulham. This grant has funded a Rebel Records music production project, late-night youth projects, and deliver a half term out of the borough residential for young people. We have also introduced ongoing weekly meeting points for parents / carers with professional input on topics such as mental health.
- Mentoring project. Following another successful bid to the Violence Reduction Unit, the GVEU received £32,000 to deliver a mentoring project to provide support to young people.
Priority: Prevent
Key figures January to December 22
Referrals to Prevent
- 37
Education queries received
- 39
Community Engagements
- 126
Young people attending projects
- 571
Council officers trained
- 23
Schools staff trained
- 1,020
School pupils engaged
- 436
Prevent is one of the four strands of the Government’s Counter Terrorism Strategy, CONTEST. It seeks to safeguard vulnerable children and adults from being drawn into extremism and terrorism.
Under the Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015, all local authorities are subject to a duty in the exercise of their functions, to have “due regard to the need to prevent people from being drawn into terrorism”. This duty is known as the Prevent duty. It applies to a wide range of public-facing bodies including schools and education providers.
Achievements in 2022
- Monthlycommunity partners meetings held to bring organisations together to help understand the issues impacting the community, to understand emerging issues around extremism and monitor community tensions.
- Supported Afghan Evacuees to ensure they understand the differences between life in the UK and life in Afghanistan, particularly in relation the dangers and harms faced by young people and to support them to be resilient to harmful narratives around extremism and terrorism. This followed a number of referrals to Prevent.
- Delivered a successful parenting programme to a cohort of local parents.
- Successfully engaged with underserved and vulnerable young people, particularly around critical thinking and fake news. 90% of attendees, when asked how soon they would put the learning in practice said ‘immediately.’
Priority: Violence Against Women & Girls
Key figures January to December 22
Sexual offences
- 395
- Increase of 1% compared to last year, higher than London rate
Rape offences
- 109
- Fall of 13% compared to last year
Domestic abuse offences
- 2,835
- Fall of 6%, however rates are similar to London averages
Stalking offences
- 126
Ambulance call outs where there is a violence related injury (women):
- 103
- Reduction of 28% compared to 2020
Violence against women and girls (VAWG) is a key priority for H&F.
In November 2022 the borough undertook a detailed analysis looking into VAWG. This analysis showed that the borough has higher rates of stalking compared to the national average, but lower rates of domestic abuse and sexual assault. In general, the abuser is known to the survivor and incidences occur primarily in private places, with almost half of rape offences occurring in residential locations. Women were found to be more likely to approach the police if there is violence involved, so it is very likely that the full picture of these offences is unknown.
Last year, there were 395 sexual offences, including indecent assault, and unlawful (underage) sexual intercourse and rape. The number of sexual offences overall has increased very slightly by 1%, however rape offences fell by 13% compared to last year.
There is a significantly higher rate of offences in the resident population in Shepherds Bush Green, but broadly offences take place across the borough.
Achievements in 2022
- Introduced a new Ending Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy in March 2022.
- Established a new VAWG board in January 2022 where a range of key stakeholders across the borough work collaboratively to drive the strategic response to ending VAWG.
- Appointed a Domestic Abuse Housing Coordinator to lead on implementing the new housing duties under the Domestic Abuse Act.
- Launched the Bambu project, which supports children affected by domestic abuse.
- VAWG training was made a mandatory requirement for all council employees and a new e-training package was introduced.
Priority: Burglary
Key figures January to December 22
Business burglaries
- 365
- Increase of 18% compared to last year, higher rate than London
Residential burglaries
- 812
- Fall of 25% compared to last year, higher rate than London
Hot spots
Business burglaries
- Shepherds Bush Green
Residential burglaries
- Munster
Burglary is the theft, or attempted theft, from a premises where access is not authorised. Damage to a premises that appears to have been caused by a person attempting to enter to commit a burglary, is also counted as burglary. Residential and commercial burglaries are distinguished by the function of the building.
Last year there were 365 burglaries of business premises and 812 of residential premises. Whilst residential burglary has fallen in the last year by a quarter (25%), business burglary has increased by 18% following a steady decline in the previous 3 years. Although the rates of both business and residential burglaries are higher than the London average, they are not significantly higher.
Shepherds Bush Green has a significantly higher level of business burglaries when compared to other wards and shown an increase this year of a quarter compared to last year (+25%).
Munster has a significantly higher level of residential burglaries with 70 burglaries last year, the highest of any other ward. Residential burglaries are more likely to occur on Monday and Saturday afternoons between 12 – 6pm.
Achievements in 2022
- Continued partnership working between council and police to share information relating to hot spot areas. Information on burglary hotspots shared monthly at Tasking and Enforcement Group.
- Burglary hot spots routinely added to Law Enforcement Team priority patrol list.
- Daily intelligence shared between police and council relating to overnight burglary statistics and locations at daily partnership call.
- Upgraded temporary CCTV cameras deployed in hotspot areas.
Priority: Hate Crime
Key figures January to December 22
Hate crimes
- 695
- Decrease of 3.6% compared to last year
Rate of hate crimes
- 3.4 per 1,000
- Compared to 2.5 London Average
Racist crime
- 539
- Decrease of 6% compared to last year
Homophobic crime
- 105
- Decrease of 6% compared to last year
Religious and racist crime
- 567
- Decrease of 5% compared to last year
Disability hate crime
- 24
- Increase of 14% compared to last year
Transgender hate crime
- 17
- Increase of 113% compared to last year
A hate crime is defined as: “Any criminal offence which is perceived by the victim or any other person, to be motivated by hostility or prejudice based on a person's race or perceived race; religion or perceived religion; sexual orientation or perceived sexual orientation; disability or perceived disability and any crime motivated by hostility or prejudice against a person who is transgender or perceived to be transgender.”
H&F recorded 695 crimes that were flagged as hate crimes in 2022 that were reported to the police, this is a reduction from last year of 3.6% but is higher than levels in 2018-2020.
The current rate of hate crime is 3.4 per 1,000 resident population and this is higher than the London rate at 2.5.
There was a higher level of offences committed in April compared to the rest of the year. Both Hammersmith Broadway and Shepherds Bush Green are significantly higher wards for hate crimes in 2022. Most hate crimes relate to racist or religious crime, then homophobic is the next highest category of offence. The crime offences have been categorised by the Metropolitan Police Service so note that some crimes cannot be broken down further by racist and religious crime.
Achievements in 2022
- Delivered a programme of events for Hate Crime Awareness Week, including crime prevention and awareness raising stalls across our three town centres in partnership with Police, Law Enforcement Team and Business Improvement Districts.
- Continued to fund a specialist hate crime post within the Community Safety Team.
- Hate Crime Awareness Training sessions delivered to 106 members of staff and 10 sessions delivered to 482 young people by Show Racism the Red Card.
- 20 victims of hate crime supported by a dedicated council caseworker.
Priority: Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB)
Key figures January to December 22
Anti-social behaviour police notifications
- 5,876
- Fall of 31% compared to last year
LET hours patrolling the borough
- 27,349
Average number of LET patrols a day
- 261
ASB referrals to the LET
- 1,046
ASB cases handle by the ASB team (complex cases)
- 221
ASB Reviews (formally called Community triggers)
- 24
H&F Council works in partnership with the police and other agencies to tackle crime and ASB in order to make H&F a safe place to live, work and visit.
There are multiple ways to report ASB to the police and the council. The police receive the majority of ASB reports if there is an emergency or criminal activity is taking place. Residents are also able to report ASB after the event or if it does not require an immediate response.
When reports are made to the council, in the main all residential related ASB is handled by the ASB team, with ASB that takes place in a public place/communal areas being handled by the Law Enforcement Team.
Victims and communities can request a review of a case of ASB via an ASB Review. Where an ASB Review is raised, a multi-agency meeting takes place between agencies to review whether the trigger threshold has been met, to discuss the reported ASB concerns, hear from the victims on the impact of the behaviour and develop an action plan to address the ASB.
Achievements in 2022
- The ASB Unit handled 280 cases of ASB in 2022 and issued 54 community protection warnings, 24 community protection notices and 13 injunctions in 2022.
- There are currently 4 Public Spaces Protection Orders (PSPOs) in force in the borough, with 3 introduced in 2022 introducing rules on the use of amplifiers in public spaces in Hammersmith Town Centre, Shepherds Bush and White City.
- The Law Enforcement team delivered a highly visible front-line service 24 hours a year, 7 days a week and launched nearly 5,000 investigations into residents’ reports of anti-social behaviour.
- First London Borough to be accredited and awarded the ASB Pledge.
Priority: Law Enforcement Team
The Law Enforcement Team (LET) investigates and resolves reports from the public or businesses on a range of issues such as ASB and environmental crime.
Due to the problem solving approach taken by the LET, the majority of reports the LET receives relate to ASB and are resolved quickly without the need for an enforcement intervention. In around a quarter of cases there is a requirement for further investigation, monitoring and enforcement activity.
In 2022, most ASB occurred in parks, Shepherds Bush, White City and Hammersmith Broadway.
Achievements in 2022
- Dealt with more than 96,000 service requests around the borough for a range of issues, and conducted 85,000 patrols across the borough including:
- 6,500 hours patrolling housing estates
- 15,000 hours patrolling highways
- 4,500 hours patrolling parks.
- Conducted over 7,000 weapon sweeps, finding and removing 23 weapons.
- Investigated 7,500 instances of fly tipping and waste issues.
- Issued 1,700 Fixed Penalty Notices.
Priority: Hammersmith Broadway
Hammersmith Broadway has 7,850 usual residents at the Census 2021, accounting for 4.3% of H&F’s resident population. Hammersmith is a heavy traffic area, filled with businesses, organisations and young professionals. Hammersmith includes a busy town centre high street and shopping centre, a number of underground stations, pubs and restaurants making it a busy, high footfall area.
Hammersmith Broadway accounts for 12% of all offences in the borough in 2022 and has the second highest number of crimes just after Shepherds Bush Green. When compared to other wards, Hammersmith Broadway has statistically a higher level of crimes relating to arson and criminal damage, robbery, theft, theft from a motor vehicle, hate crime and bike, moped and e-scooter enabled crimes.
There has been a 34% increase in crimes in 2022 compared to 2021, mainly driven by the increase in theft and robbery and criminal damage in the area. This is the highest increase of all wards. There has been a reduction in crime in drug offences and residential burglaries over the same period.
Achievements in 2022
- 3-month Community Protection Notice (CPN) Zone to tackle persistent ASB and other unreasonable behaviours that have a negative impact on community’s quality of life.
- Additional policing resource assigned and funding allocated to tackle ASB in the area.
- LET Week of Action held in November 2022 to address ongoing reports of crime and ASB on King Street and the Ashcroft Square Estate.
- Full licensing inspection of all off-license premises carried out by LBHF Licensing Team to encourage responsible alcohol consumption and selling.
- Renewal of the Hammersmith Town Centre Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO) to support responsible street performance, busking and amplified public speaking in the area.
- Launch of the Hammersmith Town Centre Forum to support and address crime and ASB concerns.
Priority: Shepherds Bush Green
Shepherds Bush Green has 5,570 residents at the Census 2021, accounting for 3% of H&F’s resident population. Although the area has a smaller resident population, it is a busy multicultural neighbourhood with a mix of houses and offices.
Shepherds Bush Green is exceptionally busy, frequented by people drawn to the diverse night-time economy offer, such as cocktail bars, pubs, restaurants and live music venues like the O2 Shepherds Bush Empire.
Shepherds Bush has the highest level of night-time visitors compared to other areas in the borough, particularly to Westfield Shopping Centre, Loftus Road Stadium and White City House social club making it a lively and crowded area.
Shepherds Bush Green accounts for 12% of all offences. This area has higher levels of crime for burglary, drug offences, robbery, violence against a person, theft and hate crime.
There has been a 5% increase in crimes in 2022 compared to 2021, mainly driven by the increase in theft and burglary in the area. There has been a reduction in drug offences, arson and criminal damage and sexual offences in the area over the same period.
Achievements in 2022
- Launched the Shepherds Bush Forum to address and tackle ASB and crime.
- Operation Nightingale delivered resulting in a three-month partial closure order, the first of its kind in London. Additional policing resource assigned, and funding allocated to tackle ASB in the area via Home Office and Police Tactical Tasking and Coordination Group (TTCG).
- £105,000 of crime prevention funding received for initiatives on Shepherds Bush Green including fencing, lighting and signage.
- Designing out crime review resulting in changes to street furniture.
- Friends of Shepherds Bush Green established.
- PSPO prohibiting the use of amplifiers renewed and extended to cover Shepherds Bush Green.
- 7,000 weapons sweeps and 3291 high visibility patrols conducted.
Our plan for 2023/24
| Publish a new Serious Violence Strategy to tackle and prevent violent crime and deliver early intervention and diversion activities through the Serious Violence Duty | By January 2024 |
| Continue to deliver the Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) Strategy and action plan | Deliver Year 2 of VAWG Strategy and action plan by March 2024 |
| Continue to invest in the council’s 72 officer strong Law Enforcement Team by increasing the number of women's safety champions and hosting monthly surgeries in H&F libraries |
Surgeries to start April - June 2023 Further cohort of Women's Safety Champions by January - March 2024 |
| Deliver a new programme aimed at tackling sexual assaults on women and girls in H&F by ensuring the safety of our town centres and night time economy | By January - March 2024 |
| Invest further in refuge accommodation for domestic abuse survivors by purchasing properties and funding vital improvement works | July - September 2023 |
| Invest in the council’s Prevent team to prevent people becoming radicalized | By December 2023 |
| Deliver the £4.5m CCTV investment programme to enhance, improve and upgrade our CCTV network across the borough | Deliver year 2 of programme throughout 2023/24 |
| Publish a new partnership Hate Crime Strategy to challenge and prevent hatred and intolerance and support those affected | January - March 2024 |
| Introduce a new Combatting Drugs Partnership to tackle drug related crime and promote health and wellbeing focusing on tackling supply, demand, access to substance misuse treatment and supporting children affected by drugs | Combatting Drugs Partnership to be established by April 2023 |
| Design out crime and deliver targeted crime prevention operations in Shepherds Bush and Hammersmith Broadway via dedicated crime prevention forums and initiatives | Throughout 2023/24 |