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Revealed: London's most wanted robbers
Justin Davenport, Crime Correspondent25 Nov 2008
THESE are London's most wanted robbers - suspected of driving a surge in armed crime in the capital.
Scotland Yard today issued CCTV images of dangerous gangs and individuals wanted for a series of robberies across London and the South-East.
Some are blamed for a rise in the number of raids on bookmakers in recent months - the latest figures show an 18 per cent increase on last year.
The betting industry blames the surge partly on the credit crunch as well as new late-night opening hours for bookmakers. The Association of British Bookmakers is offering a £10,000 reward for the arrest and conviction of betting shop robbers.
The CCTV images released by the Standard today include one unarmed raider who uses brute force to overcome security guards delivering cash to banks.
Peter Dixon, 29, who makes no effort to disguise himself, has now struck 12 times in five months.
Another wanted man is Anthony Perry, who is suspected of being part of a gang behind a series of betting shop robberies in London and Bristol.
Detective Superintendent Bob Cummings, the operational head of the Flying Squad, said they were focusing on tackling raids on betting shops - the only sector of commercial robbery now showing an increase. He said: "We are working closely with the betting industry to bring in a range of crime prevention measures.
"We are aware that there is a balance between the need to look after commercial interests and the need to look after security and sometimes there can be a tendency to get that balance wrong."
Figures show there have been 204 betting shop robberies in London since April, compared with 173 in the same period last year. Elsewhere, the Met has seen reductions in cash-in-transit robberies, and the number of commercial robberies overall is down.
Mr Cummings said: "Our detection rate for cash-in-transit raids is nearly 50 per cent so we are arresting a lot of people but we are still getting a lot of robberies. The trend is for robbers to get younger and younger. We have even had a 14-year-old arrested for these type of offences."
A spokesman for the Association of British Bookmakers said: "Any downturn in the economy leads to an increase in crime and there is a perception that betting shops are places where you can get your hands on ready cash."
This week Work and Pensions Secretary James Purnell has called a summit to discuss violence in betting shops. About 40 per cent of raids on bookmakers take place within the M25.
Anyone with information should call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
Reader views (2)
Police officers don't catch violent criminals anymore, they spend all day working out their own compensation claims. Ticket a motorist; much easier.
- Mannester, Caterham Surrey, 25/11/2008 23:03
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Why not plaster London with wanted posters - let's get this scum of the streets.
- Frederick, London UK, 25/11/2008 11:49
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