Met Police data confirms the area as a crime hotspot with 106 out of the 217 crimes reported in Dalston in March this year occurring in the wider locality. Sixty of which took place in the immediate vicinity of Gillett Square.
A weapon found by police in Gillett Square during a weapons sweep.
- Credit: Robert Beckford
Hackney's community safety chief, Cllr Susan Fajana-Thomas says concerns like Mr Beckford's are being taken "very seriously" and that a "range of measures" have been introduced to tackle problems in the square.
These include increasing council and police patrols, more drug and weapon sweeps and carrying out drug and alcohol outreach work to support people with addictions.