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Crime is rising in nearly half of all London’s boroughs - driven by increases in violence, it was claimed today.

Labour’s London Assembly crime spokeswoman Joanne McCartney said official figures showed crime levels were up in 15 of London’s 32 boroughs in the past 12 months.

She said that while overall crime across the capital was down, a 27 per cent rise in the number of violent offences was driving increases in many boroughs.

Ms McCartney claimed cutbacks in local neighbourhood policing teams was starting to have an impact on crime levels.

She said : “For months Boris Johnson has refused to see the warning signs and now crime is once again starting to rise in many London boroughs.

“The fact that violent incidents are fuelling a large proportion of these crime rises will be of deep concern to many Londoners. The Mayor needs to get a grip, accept there is a problem and take action to reverse this trend before it becomes entrenched.”

The borough of Hillingdon recorded the highest crime rise with a 14% year on year hike, with 2621 additional crimes compared to the year before.

Senior police officers say the rise in the number of violent offences is partly due to better recording of crimes, but admit there is a problem with alcohol fuelled violence in town centres.