A new study by the TaxPayers’ Alliance has discovered that the cost of crime in London in 2006-07 was a staggering £3 billion, equivalent to £400 for every person in London. Using Home Office calculations to take into account the economic and social cost of various types of crime, TPA researchers were able to provide an in-depth breakdown of the cost of different types of crime borough-by-borough.
Using the estimated costs of different types of crime gives an appropriate weighting to crimes such as violent or sexual offences that are more serious and more worrying to the public than petty theft from a shop.
The report reveals a wide inequality in the cost of crime among different boroughs, ranging from Westminster (£154.8m, or £620 per capita) and Islington (£109m, or £590 per head) to Harrow (£50m, or £235 per head) and Richmond (£39, or £215 per head).
Download the full report (PDF)
Matthew Sinclair, Policy Analyst at the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said:
"Ordinary Londoners, particularly those in the poorest boroughs, pay the price for high crime rates every day. Whether we have been victims of crime, are afraid to go out at night or are just paying ever more to protect and insure ourselves, crime has big economic, emotional and human costs for us all. We urgently need politicians to end the excuses, show real civic leadership and enable the police to take action and replicate the radical reductions in crime seen in other cities such as New York."
Matthew Elliott, Chief Executive of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said:
“Crime is set to be the big issue in the Mayoral elections. Londoners are looking for a Mayor who will tackle the crime epidemic in the Capital. The Government should devolve full powers over the Metropolitan Police to City Hall so whoever is Mayor after May 1st has the power to sort out this menace.”