Police team say ‘crime is down’ in Finsbury Park
Tribune has previously reported on complaints of an escalation of open drug dealing and use
Friday, 14th February — By Daisy Clague
‘Love Finsbury Park’ police near the entrance to the station
CRIME rates are falling in Finsbury Park, police say, after a year of action to address what residents have described as a “drugs crisis” in the area.
The Tribune has previously reported complaints of a marked escalation of open drug dealing and use in Finsbury Park, including in front of schools and in residential doorways.
But an increase in police investments since December 2023 has led to over 600 arrests, the Met has said, and officers have seized weapons, drugs and stolen phones, most recently at a raid that recovered Rolex watches, cash and £200,000 worth of class A and C drugs.
Inspector Ross Hickman said: “Whether it’s drug dealing, robbery, knife crime – all of those crimes are interlinked. Our work sends a clear message that it will not be tolerated.”
The crime-fighting initiative, called “Love Finsbury Park”, is a collaboration between police and local authorities in Islington, Hackney and Haringey, since Finsbury Park sits between all three boroughs, and has seen 10 police officers on the beat as opposed to the usual two.
As the third largest interchange in London after Waterloo and Clapham Junction, Finsbury Park is an obvious target for criminal activity, Inspector Hickman explained, with crime in the West End quickly travelling north via the Piccadilly and Victoria lines.
The “vast majority” of organised crime relates to drug supply.
Crack cocaine and prescription drug pregabalin are the main substances being dealt and used on the streets of Finsbury Park.
Inspector Hickman added: “The drugs will continue to come – we will never, ever get rid of drugs. You’ve got youngsters coming down from as far as Doncaster who are being exploited to run those drug lines.
“If we arrest someone, we just create a void that will be filled, but what we can do is suppress that.
“It’s how we continue to support in terms of getting people arrested, but also caring for those that are using drugs at the end of that line.
“For me, I don’t see them as criminals. I see those as victims, because they haven’t got the right support, and that’s where we’ve got to work close up with a local authority. They need a bit of care and support.”
The approach to policing in the area is being called “Clear, Hold, Build”, a three-stage process of disrupting crime and working in the community to stop it continuing.
This will include initiatives like new lighting under Stroud Green Bridge and a “deep clean” of Finsbury Park station’s forecourt.
“Our communities need to talk to us – it’s all well and good them going into residential forums saying we fear crime, but if they’re not sharing that intelligence with the police, we won’t know that.
“I am pleased to see these much improved crime statistics, but I want to hear local people saying that they actually feel safer.”
Building trust in the Met, Inspector Hickman added, will play an important part in making sure people are regularly reporting crime.
Anyone with information about those involved in the supply of drugs, burglary or robbery in the Finsbury Park area is urged to speak with local officers, call police on 101.
