Welcome to Croydon: the Stop and Search capital of South London
On day 2 of our investigation into Business Improvement Districts we examine policing in the Town Centre
In the span of a single day in early February, Croydon registered 10 separate knife attacks resulting in multiple injuries and one death. The police response was as swift as it was predictable. Section 60 powers took effect across Croydon allowing local Metropolitan (MET) officers in coordination with other more specialized police teams to employ controversial stop and search tactics en mass. By the end of February, the borough had nearly eclipsed Westminster as the stop and search capital of London, mostly owing to the month-long police maneuver known as Operation Cleveland. When all was said and done, the operation resulted in over 500 searches confined to a vanishingly small patch of West Croydon and the town centre. Just 8% of those searches uncovered a weapon 43 in total. The rest of what was held up as evid
Police said they would focus the operation on West Croydon. Image: Dominic Lipinski/PA wire The Metropolitan Police have published a review of their new initiative to tackle violent crime in the Croydon area. The initiative, dubbed Operation Cleveland , aims to tackle anti-social behaviour in West Croydon, where one stabbing recently took place. As the Croydon Guardian reported previously, police presence in Croydon increased after several stabbings, with a number of Section 60 Orders giving officers heightened powers to stop and search people in the area. In a letter of review sent out to Croydon residents and published online on Saturday, police said that 28 arrests have been made for Drug and Violent offences in the past week.
Police said they would focus the operation on West Croydon. Image: Dominic Lipinski/PA wire The Metropolitan Police have launched a new initiative dubbed Operation Cleveland in a bid to tackle violent crime in Croydon after a spate of stabbings in the area. In an open letter sent out to Croydon residents and published online, Met Superintendent Andy Brittain said that the new operation, whilst planned prior to the attacks witnessed in the borough on Friday and Saturday, would aim to tackle the violence and anti-social behaviour seen on the streets in recent days. As the Croydon Guardian reported previously, police presence in Croydon increased after the stabbings, with several Section 60 Orders giving officers heightened powers to stop and search people in the area.