A surge in 999 calls for shoplifting has put 2023 on course to be a record-breaking year, with the highest volume of calls since Sadiq Khan took office.
According to the information obtained by Lib Dem Mayoral Candidate, Rob Blackie, there have been 23,881 calls to the Met Police so far this year – an increase of 49% compared with the first nine months of last year and already higher than the total number for each of the last three years.
If the Met Police receives more than 1,000 calls a month in the final three months of the year, it will be the highest year on record since Khan’s election in 2016. The average number of calls per month this year so far has been 2,653.
Lib Dem Candidate for Mayor of London, Rob Blackie, said:
“Shoplifting is going through the roof because criminals just aren’t worried about the police showing up in time. They are coming back time and again because they think they can get away with it.
“The number of Londoners resorting to dialling 999 for shoplifting this year is staggering. It’s looking likely that 2023 will see the highest volume of calls since Khan took office by some distance.
“Sadiq Khan is in charge of the police but is taking our crime problems seriously.
“London needs a Mayor who will treat crime as a priority and restore trust in the police. I would get police back on the beat, rather than wasting time on trivial offences such as cannabis and laughing gas.”
