City of London takes on capital’s 55th murder inquiry as MPS looks to ‘health’ as key driver to reduce crime

City of London Police officers have taken over the capital’s latest murder investigation – its 55th of the year so far – which has prompted comparisons with New York as both cities are reporting similar homicide figures.

The force approached the MPS, recognising the overwhelming “current demand” on new and existing investigations being handled by the Homicide and Major Crime Command (HMCC).

The MPS says it will act as “support” to City of London officers who will run the “full investigation”.

The inquiry into the killing of a 53-year-old man, allegedly punched to death in a row at a betting shop in nearby Clapton on Wednesday (April 4), will be led by City Superintendent Lee Presland, a former MPS officer. A man arrested in connection with the killing is due to be interviewed by City of London homicide detectives.

An MPS statement said it routinely worked with other forces and that it welcomed “the considerable expertise City officers bring”.

Of the murders in the capital this year, 35 have been from stabbing incidents. Wednesday also saw 18-year-old Israel Ogunsola, 18, killed in a knife attack in Hackney, east London.

The murder total is believed to be one less than that of New York in 2018 but in February and March, London’s totals were higher than that of their US counterpart. Last year saw 117 homicides in the UK city, excluding terrorist attacks.

On the same day (Thursday, April 5) as eight people were hurt in six separate stabbing incidents, the MPS announced it is to establish a new task force to focus on taking the most violent gang members off the streets “for any crime”.

Commissioner Cressida Dick said 120 officers will target the people it identifies as “most dangerous” and known crime “hotspots” with street dealing, muggers and anti-social behaviour on the force’s list.

Ms Dick greeted the launch of the Violent Crime Task Force with the warning: “If we?can get people locked up, if we know they are a prolific knife criminal or a very violent person, then that is all to the good.

“We will put even more effort into bearing down on violent crime. You will see us being even more proactive out on the streets.”

In addition, up to 200 extra officers will be on duty over weekend, the force has reportedly promised.

However, Police Federation of England and Wales (PFEW) vice chair Che Donald said the spike in violent crime proved there were questions the service “can’t answer on their own”.

He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that the MPS should learn from the work done by Police Scotland’s Violence Reduction Unit in Glasgow more than ten years ago where knife crime was treated as a public health problem.

“We have to look at the fundamental root causes of why people – young men in particular – are carrying knives on the street. Do they feel unsafe? Is it a cultural issue, is it a social issue, is it an ideological issue?” said Mr Donald.

“What we do not want to do is turn it into a police state, but unfortunately we are left with very little options and opportunities to address this growing crime.”

The backdrop to the upsurge has drawn continued comparisons recently between London’s rising tide of violent crime and New York’s diminishing one. And a number of police commentators have suggested a drop in the use of stop and search has been a major factor in the two cities’ murder rates coming closer together.

But one Hampshire Constabulary officer at least – with first-hand experience via the Churchill Fellowship on New York’s streets – cautions against turning to the law enforcement tactic.

Police Constable Mark Walsh says it’s “simply not true” that robust ‘stop and search’ is responsible for the US decrease as the New York Police Department has all but abandoned its ‘stop and frisk’ tactics.

In the less well-off boroughs – not funded by property taxes – where he spent most of his time, the policing presence was less, he said.

“What I did see in those boroughs were more active citizens and youth diversionary programmes; which approached violence as a community/public health issue,” added PC Walsh.

“The increase in these programmes in partnership with a policing approach that supported them is what is largely reasonable for the New York crime rate being in stable decline for 20 years now.”

Mayor Sadiq Khan said the 55 killings in the capital since the start of this year were “heartbreaking”, dismissing suggestions by Victor Olisa – former policing lead in north London after the 2011 riots – that the MPS has “lost control of crime” in London.

Former Chief Superintendent Olisa told the Guardian that budget cuts and new demands on policing were taking officers off the street and away from gathering intelligence, arguing the silence from senior MPS officers is “deafening” after this week’s rise in violence.

But Mr Khan laid the blame squarely on the Government for cuts – past and projected – totalling £1 billion to the policing budget.

“Since 2014 we have seen an increase in violent crime in London and across the country,” he said.

“Already in the last seven years we have lost £700 million from the policing budget. Over the next three years the Government plans to cut another £300 million. That’s a billion pounds worth of cuts.

His comments were echoed by Mayor of Hackney Philip Glanville who added: “You can’t ignore the impact of reduced police resources and the role of social media.”

By last September, officer numbers in England and Wales had fallen 16 per cent from a peak in 2009 – down a total of 22,000. In London in the last 12 months, the MPS has lost 922 officers, with a current figure of 31,547.

Figures released in November showed gun, knife and serious violent crime across England and Wales rose by a fifth.

Tottenham MP David Lammy?said the level of violence in London was the “worst I’ve ever seen it” and warned of no end to the bloodshed. He said drugs were as “prolific as ordering a pizza”, comparing the current situation to BBC Russian gangster drama McMafia>

He added: “There are parents, friends, families, schools, traumatised and grieving, and there is absolutely no sign, I’ve got to tell you at the moment, of reduction in the violence.”

London’s Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime Sophie Linden said City Hall were “not pretending there isn’t a problem”, adding: “We will get on top of it.”

As demonstrators and community leaders called for peace in a gathering at Hackney Central station in east London close to where?18-year-old Israel Ogunsola was stabbed to death, violence was breaking out again on the capital’s streets on Thursday (April 5).

Eight people were injured – one as young as 13 – from six separate stabbings in a nine-hour time frame beginning in Walthamstow, with further incidents in Poplar, Mile End, Newham, Ealing Broadway and Herne Hill.

The MPS said the condition of the teenager taken to hospital after being stabbed in Ealing Broadway around 7pm on Thursday is not yet known.

Mr Khan claimed that Theresa May had spurned his request for a meeting six weeks ago to work together on the issue.

Next week, Home secretary Amber Rudd is expected to announce a new government anti-violence strategy, including new interventions to deter young boys from offending.