|
|
 |
| |
Anthony Brooks |
‘Crime czar’ is set to move on
‘Statistics are the best we’ve ever had’
TOWN Hall community safety chief Anthony Brooks is leaving Camden after eight years in charge of first the police then the council’s drive against anti-social behaviour and crime.
After making Camden the flagship of the government’s “Respect” agenda with a range of sometimes controversial new powers to deal with anti-social behaviour, the former borough commander turned Town Hall director is taking up a post at Croydon Council this autumn.
The year Mr Brooks arrived to head up Camden police in 2001 there were more than 46,700 crimes committed in the borough.
Last year, after three years at Holborn police headquarters and nearly five at the Town Hall as “crime czar”, there were 34,000.
“Sometimes Camden Town feels like it has been my life for the last eight years,” Mr Brooks said of his continuous campaign to tackle the drugs market centred on Camden High Street, and the crime it generates. “Camden Town was a far more complex problem even than King’s Cross. But this year the feedback and the (crime) statistics are the best we’ve ever had.”
He also celebrates the massive reduction in prostitution and drugs in King’s Cross and the council’s reaction to the July 7 bombings. Since 7/7, Mr Brooks has overseen the building of a new emergency planning centre in St Pancras.
He also drove the introduction of Camden’s borough-wide controlled drinking zone and championed dispersal zones.
Popular with Town Hall colleagues and approachable to the public, he pioneered the transition from police to council life which has become common among senior officers.
But the path was not always a smooth one. Crime figures actually went up while Mr Brooks was top cop, and Camden’s aggressive use of Asbos drew
criticism.
Mr Brooks recognises the challenges his successor faces, but believes that Camden is ahead of the game.
He added: “I think we’ve improved working relationships across the council.
“For example, the way the youth services have got involved with youth disorder and gangs, and that is as good as I think I have ever seen it operating anywhere.” |
 |
|
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
|
