Hotspots fuel capital's soaring murder rate

The boroughs of Havering, Bexley and Redbridge may not be the most sought after areas of London, but in one respect, at least, places with unfashionable postcodes have a distinct advantage over trendier parts of the capital.

According to figures from the Metropolitan police, they have far fewer murders than anywhere else in London.

Although violent crime in London has soared over the past two years, fresh statistics show the rise has concentrated in particular hotspots, such as Hackney in the east end of the capital, and Westminster in its centre, rather than fanning out evenly across the City of London and the capital's 32 boroughs.

Between 1997 and 1999 there were 29 murders in Westminster, which has Soho and the West End within its boundary. Lewisham, in the south, had 28 and there were 27 each in Brent, in the north-west of London, and Lambeth, in the south. The north London boroughs of Camden and Islington were not far behind, with 19 and 22 respectively.

At the other end of the spectrum, there were no murders in the City of London, while Havering and Bexley in the east and south-east recorded two each.

The total number of murders in London during the period was 429, the highest two-year figure for more than 10 years. Police pointed out that between a quarter and half of murders were "domestic" and that the overall clear-up rate was between 80% and 90%. But officers have a growing problem on their hands.

The recent surge in murders has been caused by a rise in violent underworld activity with at least 100 of the killings drug related. Drive-by shootings and assassinations by self-styled Yardie gangsters, the Jamaican drug barons who control the trade in crack cocaine in inner cities, have had the biggest impact.

At least 29 people were killed in Yardie-related "hits" last year. There have been six murders this year, and 21 attempted murders. Almost all the incidents were "black on black", although white crime families are still the dominant force in the underworld.

A breakdown of the figures by analysts at Scotland Yard revealed a third of the people murdered in the past two years was black and 46 of those killed had been shot. Of the 249 white people murdered, 14 were shot.

Soho, a traditional crime centre, is being rivalled by Brixton, in the south, Harlesden, in the north-west and Dalston, in the east, for the number of serious incidents.

The Met now wants to identify London's murder hotspots to help tackle the gangsters head on. One innovation was the introduction last month of three fast-response homicide assessment teams (HATs), which are on permanent patrol waiting to be called to murder scenes.

HATs should give detectives the best chance of getting important evidence in the "golden hour" after a murder. Each HAT team has a forensic scientist to ensure the scene can be sealed off quickly.

The HATs report to a new department, the serious crime group, which has taken overall charge of murder, kidnap, shooting and organised crime investigations across London.

The SCG has also assumed responsibility for Operation Trident - the team looking at Yardie crime - the fraud squad and the firearms unit.

Deputy Assistant Commissioner Bill Griffiths, who is in overall command, said: "We have identified very distinctive murder hotspots. Our job is to get to incidents in the golden hour and the HATs have everything they need to get a grip of the scene."

The Met also wants to encourage partnerships between local councils and the police. Bexley is a prime example.

"We were one of the first boroughs to introduce community safety initiatives," said a council spokesman. "We don't have the bright lights of some places in the centre of town. But this is a safe place to live."