County Cllr Chris Botten

By Rebecca Curley

local democracy reporter

More needs to be done to “reverse the trend” of rising violent crime, and cases involving knives, says Surrey county councillor Chris Botten. 

Cllr Botten, leader of the SCC Liberal Democrats, is concerned by the rise in violent crimes in the county. Between June 2018 and June 2019, that increased from 1,793 to 2,418, UK Crime Statistics show.

He said this meant violent acts were getting “closer to ordinary, law-abiding citizens”, implying it was not just in gang cultures.

“We need to reverse this trend which is bringing violent attacks into every day life,” he added. “There is no single answer. We need to find better ways to stop gangs, for instance, and to deter people from carrying knives.

“But, with this area of crime going so fast, we are also seeing other areas carry less priority, and we can’t let that happen either. Fraud and antisocial behaviour need to remain major areas of focus.”

A collection of some of the knives handed into Surrey Police during the 2017 amnesty.

In July, two long-running trials for murder in Surrey left Darren Pencille, 36, of no fixed address, and Ricardo Godinho, 41, of Kingston Road, Epsom, serving life.

Surrey Police say the figures are due to a change in recording methods and the force is working closely with schools to educate children about the fatal consequences of carrying a knife

Cllr Botten said: “The issue is not what the police do with extremely limited resources, the issue is getting a seriously underfunded service back to resource levels that enable it to function as the officers would wish.

“Crimes are not investigated, victims can expect little more than a phone call and residents have had to lower their expectations. Officers do their very best. They need more resources.”

David Munro

Surrey Police and Crime Commissioner David Munro said this month that he hoped to have “more clarity” by November about a pledge by Prime Minister Boris Johnson for 20,000 police officers on the street and how many Surrey will be getting.

The method for recording crimes changed with police forces tightening up how they recorded violent crimes with new crimes added to the category, including stalking and harassment.

Mr Munro said: “The statistics must be seen in the context of an improvement in recording practices and the introduction of new offences such as stalking and harassment into the violence category.

“Equally, reports of domestic violence are increasing and this should be welcomed in many respects because we are beginning to see the true extent of some of these crimes which may have previously remained hidden.

“I know there are fears about issues such as knife crime but the figures in Surrey remain low. Much of what does take place is related to drugs and gang activity, some of which spills over the border from London.

“The force is working hard to tackle and prevent the threat of ‘County Lines’ gangs who are using young people in local towns to spread their supply network.”

Surrey Police has a new recruitment campaign to boost officer numbers.

Mr Munro added: “I would like to reassure the public that Surrey is still one of the safest places in the country to live and work and I am committed to working with the force to address those areas of crime that cause concern for our residents.”

Detective Superintendent Pete Fulton, the lead officer tackling knife crime for Surrey, said: “There has been an increase in knife crime nationally and Surrey is not immune but I would like to reassure the public that as we now count crimes of all types where a knife or bladed article is used, it may appear in our figures to the Home Office as if we have had a significant increase over the past 12 months in Surrey.

“This is not the case and is, in part, down to a change in recording methods. We have had an increase of 20 more offences in the serious knife crime categories in 2018/19 compared to the previous year.”

“It is essential we keep on top of this issue. Knife crime destroys lives, and tackling serious violence in our communities remains a priority. As a force, we have been working closely with local schools and partner agencies to educate and raise awareness, particularly among young people, that carrying a blade can have fatal consequences.

“Our participation in the national knife crime campaign, Operation Sceptre, also took more than 100 knives off our streets this year and we will be running another knife amnesty in the autumn to build on that success.

“As well as crime prevention, we have been tackling knife crime through proactive operations, in particular targeting ‘County Lines’ gangs who often use vulnerable people to assist them in drug-dealing and pull them into a world of violence to the point where they carry a weapon to feel ‘safe’.

“There is no place for this in our communities and we will continue working to disrupt this threat and keep Surrey a safe place to live and work.”