With more than 80 murder investigations launched in the capital since January, during Friday night’s State of London debate, an angry woman lashed out at London mayor Sadiq Khan over shuttered down police stations and a lack of officers on the beat.
“There are no Bobbies on our street, Londoners don’t feel safe, and our communities don’t feel safe. You give me statistics Mr. Khan, but for me as a parent, I’m telling you, we do not feel safe,” the woman stormed, to cheers from the audience.
“We do not feel safe in London and we want you to do something about it!” she demanded, as quoted by The Sun.
The mayor told her that he was making every effort to tackle the problem including diverting more money to the police and launching programs to help children to stay away from street gangs.
He put the blame for police cuts and underfunding squarely on the government’s door.
“It is the case we have the most anti-London government we’ve ever had in history, and I’m afraid Londoners are paying the price,” Sadiq Khan complained.
According to the Metropolitan police, the number of crimes registered this year also shows a 23 percent increase in gun crime, a 21 percent rise in knife crime and an 18 percent increase in the number of rapes.
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The rest of Britain hasn’t been spared either with violent crime having soared by more than 50 percent in some parts of the UK and the latest crime statistics showing a huge spike.
