Wood Lane was the most crime-ridden street in Hammersmith and Fulham in December, according to new crime maps released by the police.
The ground-breaking service, which allows members of the public to access crime figures for their street for the first time, reveals there were 96 recorded offences in Wood Lane, home to the BBC.
There were 26 incidences of anti-social behaviour, seven reports of violent crime, two burglaries and 61 'other' crimes, which can include drug offences, shoplifting and criminal damage.
Borough-wide, there were about 2,800 reported offences in December, with about 1,750 occurring in the north (Shepherd's Bush, Hammersmith) and 1,000 in the south (Fulham, Parson's Green).
With 900 reported incidents, anti-social behaviour was, by some distance, the biggest scourge in H&F. Shepherd's Bush was the worst of the town centres with about 70 reports, while the least sociable streets included Beryl Road, Hammersmith (31); Ivatt Place, West Kensington Estate (20); and Stanlake Villas, off Uxbridge Road (24).
There were nearly 470 violent crimes across the borough, with the area in and around Uxbridge Road top of the pile with 16, while there were three reports near the Hammersmith Apollo in Sussex Place.
Smart Walham Grove in Fulham, which can include the Michelin-Starred Harwood Arms among its attractions, was among the worst streets in the borough for robbery, with four reports.
A spokesman for the pub said he was 'shocked' by the stats. "It's really surprising. I certainly haven't heard anything from customers so I don't think it can be linked with the pub."
Burglaries occurred most frequently in the area between Bishop's and Hurlingham Parks in the south (190), while most burgled borough streets included Albion Place in Hammersmith and St Mark's Close in Parson's Green.
Glenthorne Road, Hammersmith, residents were most likely to have their cars broken into, with eight reports of vehicle crime, while Gowan Avenue, Fulham, had five.
There was better news for the Clem Attlee Estate in Fulham, which was subject to mounted police patrols last year amid a rise in knife and gang crime.
Figures show there were about 30 police call-outs, including 11 for anti-social behaviour and four for violence.
This compares favourably to the White City Estate which had about 20 violent incidents and 25 anti-social crimes.
West Kensington Estate was the worst in this category, with about 45 call-outs.
Retiring borough commander Kevin Hurley last month said Hammersmith and Fulham was one of the 'safest inner-city boroughs in England'.
Approximate figures from crime map, December 2010 :
*NB: Figures may not be 100 per cent accurate
NORTH (Hammersmith Broadway, Brook Green, Ravenscourt Park, Goldhawk Road, Uxbridge Road, Shepherd's Bush Green):
Total: 1,734
Anti-social behaviour: 580 (stand-outs: Beryl Road, 31; Stanlake Villas, 24; Lakeside Road, 17)
Violent crime: 226 (Uxbridge Road, 16; Wood Lane, seven; Sussex Place, three)
Vehicle crime: 143 (Glenthorne Road, eight; Goodwin Road, four)
Burglary: 104 (Shepherd's Bush Green, eight; Albion Place, three)
Robbery: 35
Other: 630
SOUTH (Fulham Broadway, Parson's Green, South Fulham, Baron's Court, North Fulham)
Total: 1,017
Anti-social behaviour: 360 (North End Road, north, 38; Ivatt Place, 20)
Violent crime: 143
Vehicle crime: 124 (Parsons Green, 12, Gowan Avenue, five)
Burglary: 107 (St Mark's Close, three)
Robbery: 27 (Walham Grove, four; Talgarth Road, Barons Court, three)
Other: 267 (Wansdown Place, eight)
COMMENTARY:
Oh how becoming a victim of crime alters one's perspective. Had these crime maps been released last week, my interest in them would have been purely professional.
But last Saturday, my flat near Munster Road was burgled and suddenly crime has taken on a whole new meaning.
Despite it being my only skirmish in ten months living here, I found myself painstakingly scouring for the website's crime number blobs on every road around my area.
It seems I was unfortunate – there were only a few other burglaries nearby – and despite the fact there were over 1,000 crimes in and around my neck of the woods, most were anti-social, so I guess a bit of perspective is needed.
Borough-wide, though, there were 210 other unfortunate victims of burglary and that does seem quite a lot, especially as the local force are mightily fond of telling us that the crime is, and has been, on the decrease for five years.
Living in an inner-city borough is never going to be a cakewalk but it's clear certain areas of H&F do need more attention from the police than others, especially around Wood Lane and other areas of Shepherd's Bush.
Hopefully these maps can serve to make people even more vigilant and reinforce to the police that H&F can only remain a relatively safe borough with continued hard work.
DOES YOUR STREET FEATURE IN THIS STORY? WHAT ARE YOUR VIEWS ON THE MAPPING WEBSITE? CALL ME ON 07795 684967, EMAIL ADAMCOURTNEY@TRINITYSOUTH.CO.UK AND FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER @FulhamBushChron
