Most crimes committed by “small group of persistent offenders”

Islington’s most prolific criminal is an 18-year-old who committed 125 offences in just five years.

The teen, who lives in Upper Holloway, tops the list of crooks in the borough from 2010 to 2015 – with a third of his crimes being burglaries.

Second on the list is a 19-year-old from Finsbury Park who has 86 offences to his name over the same period.

The borough’s five most frequently prosecuted offenders committed 460 crimes over the five years and were collared by police for no fewer than 261 burglaries, 84 of which involved one 29-year-old man who lives in St Peter’s ward.

The figures, obtained in a Freedom of Information request by the Gazette, show the alarming extent to which criminals in the borough continue with a life of crime regardless of police action.

Cllr Paul Convery, Islington Council’s executive member for community safety, said: “Most of the problem crimes in Islington are committed by a relatively small group of persistent offenders, and a lot of the time they don’t result in prosecution.

“It’s shocking that somebody can be prosecuted so many times and continue. These are people who will not change their behaviour.

“Enough is enough if they don’t reform. If fines, community service and even the threat of prison won’t work we will have to find something else.”

Last summer the borough’s young offenders service was blasted in a report by Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Probation who rated the service poor in four of six categories.

The investigation, based on a study of 34 cases, found that on 31 occasions where the young person was a danger to the public, only five received the sufficient work.

“Unfortunately Islington has one of the highest rates of re-offending and the young offenders and probation services have to up their game,” said Cllr Convery.

“That’s why we’re planning to use new powers to change the behaviour of these persistent offenders.

“Another problem is that half of the crimes where there is a main suspect don’t end in prosecution.”