New police figures show that nearly 300 rapes have been recorded in Southwark in the last year, with the borough in London’s top five for total numbers of sex crimes.
According to crime statistics released by the Met online, Southwark had nearly one thousand sex crimes recorded from September 2017 to September 2018. The only boroughs with higher figures were Westminster, Lambeth, Newham and Croydon.
Shockingly, according to figures available up to September of this year, 292 rapes were recorded in the borough throughout the last twelve months, a 12.3 per cent increase on the year before, with 256.
Nunhead and Queen’s Road had the highest number of sexual offences (63), of which a staggering 26 were recorded as rapes.
And nearly half Southwark’s neighbourhoods had the number of recorded rapes – vaginal, anal, or oral – in the double figures.
What the figures do not show is how many incidents involved attackers who were known to their victims, or where exactly they took place. The data also does not show the ages of those attacked.
North Walworth and London Bridge and West Bermondsey are both particularly affected by sexual offences – including rape and other types of assault – both with 61 recorded within the last twelve months. The previous twelve months, North Walworth also had the highest number of sexual offences in the borough, with 60 in total.
Residents have told the News how prostitution is affecting their Walworth estates, with used condoms left littering communal stairways and anti-social behaviour leaving families worried.
Statistics show that in the last twelve months Southwark is fourth highest out of all London boroughs for recorded crime, with nearly 38,000 crimes recorded in that period – up from 33,000 the previous year – with Lambeth just behind. The majority of offences were classified as ‘theft and handling’.
North Walworth is most affected by violence and drugs, but London Bridge and West Bermondsey is the most crime-ridden neighbourhood overall, with 3,380 crimes recorded in the twelve month period. Dulwich Hill, meanwhile, is the safest, with just 488 crimes recorded.
Southwark Police have previously told the News the areas near London Bridge and Tower Bridge are often targeted due to their night-time economy and heavy tourism – especially with moped crime. Bicycle theft is also highest in West Bermondsey and London Bridge.
The neighbourhood with the most recorded ‘violence against the person’ crimes was North Walworth. It tops the chart on assault with injury, wounding / GBH, offensive weapons (joint with Old Kent Road), and common assault.
North Walworth is also most affected by drug crime, with 203 recorded crimes, followed by Peckham with 159, and Faraday, with 158.
The previous twelve months, North Walworth was also the ward most affected by drug crime, with 236 offences.
When it comes to criminal damage, Rye Lane and London Bridge and West Bermondsey score particularly highly.
Overall crime figures for Southwark
From September 2017 to September 2018, there were 37,606 crimes recorded.
The majority were classed as theft and handling (14,523), followed by violence against the person, with 11,317.
There were more than three-and-a-half thousand burglaries, and more than two thousand drug offences. Nearly two thousand robberies – theft by force or with the threat of violence – were recorded in the same period.
And, shockingly, there were 915 sexual offences, of which 292 were rapes.