Nearly a quarter of recorded crimes were solved in the borough last year according to latest figures released after a Freedom of Information request.
Officers caught and brought to book a suspect almost 24 per cent of the time in 2013, a figure which is above the Met-wide average of 22 per cent.
The Gazette probed on a ward-by-ward basis the number of recorded offences committed and the number which have been successfully closed – such as by a suspect being charged, summonsed, cautioned or reprimanded – known as the detection rate. It does not include the cases where no further action was taken or where resolution was found without the police’s help
We also wanted to see how the figures – released by the Metropolitan Police under the Freedom of Information Act – had changed over time.
East Acton suffers from the highest number of crimes of any ward in the borough with 2,113 committed in 2013. The detection rate is also poor, 17th out of the 23 Ealing wards.
Graham Durn, Safer Neighbourhoods inspector for East Acton, said: “East Acton is by far the largest ward on Ealing borough with the highest population. Historically it has suffered from high crime statistics and as a result it is recognised as a priority ward.”
Northfield is the safest with just 575 crimes last year, a fall from 654 five years ago.
Despite Northfield’s low crime statistics, its crime detection percentage comes in as joint second lowest in the borough with Southfield at just 15 per cent.
Hanger Hill has the lowest crime detection rate in the borough, with just 14 per cent recorded last year.
The ward which had the highest crime detection rate last year was Southall Green at about 32 per cent, a figure which has barely changed from 2009.
Ealing Broadway’s crime figures have stayed roughly the same in the last five years, making it the second highest ward for criminal offences.
All 23 of Ealing wards reported fewer crimes for 2013 than in 2009, but not all enjoyed a rise in detection rates, these include: Dormers Wells, Ealing Broadway, Ealing Common, Elthorne, Southall Broadway, Southall Green and Walpole.
The Metropolitan Police recorded 5,311 fewer crimes in the whole of Ealing in 2013 than in 2009.
Mr Durn added: “Ealing Borough as a whole has seen significant crime reductions compared with the rest of the MPS [Metropolitan Police Service} and the East Acton reduction figures contribute to those headline figures. Since the introduction of the Local Policing Model in September, East Acton has benefitted from increased dedicated ward staff in addition to a Neighbourhood Policing Team.”
Angie Bray MP for Ealing Central and Acton said: “It does seem clear that police in Ealing are achieving real improvements, and this is a testament to them.
“There is always more to be done as I am sure everyone will agree, a downward trend is always going to be better than the opposite, and I think the police should be congratulated for the work they are doing in the community.”
