Crime soars after Lawrence report

by DAVID BAMBER
Home Affairs Correspondent

STREET crime in London, including muggings and assaults, has soared since the publication of the Lawrence inquiry report which questioned the use of stop and search powers, according to figures obtained by The Sunday Telegraph.

Sir Paul Condon, the Metropolitan Commissioner, has admitted that street crime has gone up by 35 per cent throughout the capital since the report was published in late February. It is believed to be the highest rise ever recorded in such a short time.

All violent crimes rose by 25 per cent in the three months to June, compared with the previous three months, and are understood to be continuing to rise.

Last night, Glen Smyth, chairman of the Metropolitan Police Federation, which represents rank and file officers, said officers were increasingly reluctant to tackle suspects from ethnic minorities.

He said the "anti-police culture" in the Home Office under Labour was undermining the fight against crime. Appointing the former squatters' rights campaigner Lord Bassam of Brighton as a minister was "like putting Dracula in charge of a blood-bank", he claimed. Lord Bassam was not available to comment.

The police's stop and search powers were questioned by the Macpherson report into the murder of the black teenager Stephen Lawrence after hearing evidence that black people were stopped more frequently than whites.

Since February, police in London have almost halved these searches for fear of being branded racist.