Have we lost control of our streets?

One of the most brutal was the robbery of a young woman left for dead by two men in a quiet London street.

She bravely fought with her attackers but was punched so hard in the face, she is now fighting for her life. The muggers fled with her phone and bag.

Elsewhere in Britain, the Midlands has been hit by serious crimes, including three murders and a dozen shootings and stabbings.

Ironically, two of the fatal shootings came during a firearms amnesty called by West Midlands Police.

A huge rise in violent offences in Greater Manchester means North West people are more likely to be crime victims than anywhere else in England and Wales.

Cuts in police budgets of hundreds of millions of pounds mean there are now 121,929 officers in England and Wales – nearly 22,000 fewer than eight years ago, say rank-and-file leaders.

The Police Federation says ministers have ignored pleas to end budget reductions and bolster the number of frontline officers. Federation chairman Calum Macleod said: “Our previous warnings are coming to light as we see an increase in violent crime and victims of crime not getting the service they deserve and expect.”

Mick Neville, a retired Scotland Yard detective chief inspector, said yesterday: “The police are very much in danger of losing control of the streets.

“For the last 10-15 years, senior police officers have become more concerned with political correctness and the ‘welfare’ of criminals, rather than victims of crime.

“This has been worsened by politicians interfering and supporting such measures.

“So we have stop and search reduced as it ‘upsets’ ethnic minorities, and criminals whizzing around on mopeds without fear of being chased, as officers have been forbidden from chasing them.”

Criminals stealing to feed a drug habit know police will not investigate thefts below £50, Mr Neville said, and “scurry around and steal lots of items worth £49.99”.

He called for an urgent recruitment drive among ex-servicemen – “the type of person who used to be the backbone of British policing”. London has borne the brunt of an upsurge of violent crimes with knife offences up by nearly 20 per cent and serious youth violence by almost 10 per cent, according to latest figures.

Steve O’Connell, chairman of the London Assembly’s police and crime committee, plans to question a senior Scotland Yard officer about the worrying increase in violent crime today.

He said: “We continue to see a depressing rise in shocking crimes which leave Londoners vulnerable to the most harmful types of criminality which can leave people scared and a legacy of emotional and physical problems. We are determined to find out what is working and what is not in the battle against violence in London.

“It’s sadly true that many people in London now live in a culture of fear and feel at risk.

"They want to know that concrete steps are being taken to protect them. Londoners deserve to live in a safe city.” Metropolitan Police commissioner Cressida Dick yesterday described the recent spate of knife crime in London as a “horrible phenomenon”.

She said there were signs of some stabilisation and reduction in stabbings of under-25s, but added that it would be “naive” to suggest reductions in officer numbers have had no impact.

Last month Home Secretary Sajid Javid pledged to prioritise police funding in next year’s spending review. Meanwhile, graphic footage emerged of a moped gang wielding knives and hammers fl eeing from a raid on a luxury jewellers in London’s Regent Street.

Passers-by jumped on a suspected member of the gang and wrestled him to the ground. Police confirmed a man was under arrest. There are an estimated 60 motorbike robberies every day in the capital alone.

As police hunted the moped muggers who targeted comedian Michael McIntyre in Hampstead, north-west London, on Monday afternoon, two thieves on a scooter attacked a young woman less than five miles away in Edgware.

A Scotland Yard spokesman said: “After struggling with the victim, the pillion passenger punched her and stole her mobile phone and bag.

“During the incident she suffered a head injury and was taken to a central London hospital where she remains in a critical condition.”

Detective Sergeant Richard Lewsley said: “This was a horrific attack. “She is currently in a critical condition and we need to catch these males before they strike again.”

In Birmingham, two balaclavaclad thugs wielding machetes were caught on video as they smashed a terrified motorist’s window, then repeatedly rammed his car in a stolen BMW.

The incident took place in a residential street in the city’s Handsworth area on Saturday. The BMW roared off from the scene and was later abandoned.

The shocking images emerged after police arrested a 17-year-old boy for allegedly smashing a driver’s window with a so-called “zombie” knife during a terrifying road rage attack in Croydon, south London, on May 30.

Analysis from many of Britain’s major towns and cities has revealed a shocking rise in street violence and other public order offences.

In Newport, Gwent Police was forced to bring in special orders to crack down on street crime after a spate of violent incidents. And a huge rise in violent crime, sex attacks and robberies in Greater Manchester prompted the force to prioritise cases according to harm caused.

Merseyside has seen violent crime rise by 17.5 per cent in the last year and in Glasgow on Friday, a man was photographed chasing another down a street waving a sword.

Police say anyone with information on any of the violent incidents to ring 101 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

COMMENT - Steve O’Connell, Chairman of the London Assembly Police and Crime Committee

London is facing a scourge of violence and criminality.

So far this year, 68 people have been murdered in the capital.

Many more will have suffered life-changing physical or psychological injuries because of this senseless violence, with families and communities left to pick up the pieces of potentially shattered lives.

Figures released to my committee today show dramatic rises in crime: knife offences up 18.3 per cent – 14,811 for the year up to April 2018 compared with 12,515 up to April 2017; assault up 9.1 per cent and serious youth violence up 9.6 per cent.

This is unacceptable and the London Assembly is determined to find out what is working and what is not in the battle against violence.

The geographical spread of murders shows a concentration in certain boroughs but there are some areas that have not had a particularly bad record for violent crime which anecdotal evidence suggests are now seeing distressing instances of violence.

There may be a wide perception of lawlessness but the capital remains a comparatively safe city. I strongly believe the Met is up to the task of driving violence out of our capital.

There are some promising signs from the work of the new Violent Crime Task Force. Perhaps the Mayor should focus less on glitzy advertising campaigns and more on tackling the causes of violence.

It’s sadly true that many Londoners now live in a culture of fear and feel at risk. They want to know that concrete steps are being taken to protect them.

The London Assembly is determined to ensure that the Met and the Mayor are not let off the hook when it comes to their primary responsibility to Londoners – that we can all go about our lives without the constant fear of crime and violence. Londoners deserve to live in a safe city.

A SHOCKING TREND SWEEPING THE UK

GLASGOW - A multi-agency approach halved Glasgow’s murder rate within a decade. In 2004, the city was the country’s killing capital, with 82 victims meeting violent deaths. The latest figures show there were just 12 violent deaths in Glasgow in 2016-2017. But there is still much street violence in Scotland. Across the country, there were 1,147 ‘assaults with intent to rob’.

LIVERPOOL - Merseyside has seen violent crime rise by 17.5 per cent in the past year. There has been a series of shootings in broad daylight on suburban streets – some in front of children – which are still being investigated by the force. In the first three months of this year, there were between 3,200 and 3,700 violent crimes.

NEWPORT - Gwent Police has been forced to issue back-to-back 48 hour “dispersal orders” since last Friday in a street crime crackdown. It followed two street robberies on Sunday and the arrests of eight youths in connection with a series of city centre robberies and anti social behaviour.

BRISTOL - In March 2016, roughly 8,200 cases including violent attacks were reported to police. Less than a year later, in January 2017 the figure jumped to 17,000. Avon and Somerset Police have lost 655 officers since 2010 amid budget cuts of £80million. On Monday last week, a woman had her head smashed against a wall by a robber who snatched her handbag.

MANCHESTER - Residents are more likely to be victims of crime than anywhere else in England and Wales. A huge rise in violent crime, sex attacks and robberies prompted the force to start prioritising cases. In 2017 there were 120 crimes per 1,000 people in Greater Manchester compared with 82 across the rest of the country.

BIRMINGHAM - The city and other parts of the West Midlands have been hit by a series of serious crimes in the past month – including three murders and a dozen shootings and stabbings. It came at a time when West Midlands Police had announced a firearms amnesty, which finished on Sunday after a week-long extension.

LONDON - Knife crime in the capital is up 18.3 per cent year-onyear, common assault up 9.1 per cent and serious youth violence up 9.6 per cent. Scotland Yard figures show 11,095 knife offences were reported to the Met last year, with only 2,314 resulting in action.