Twickenham MP Munira Wilson has written an open letter to Mayor of London Sadiq Khan seeking clarity on what actions are being taken to address crime and theft in the area.

In the letter sent to Khan on 24 March 2025, Wilson expressed her worries over "rising levels of crime in the Twickenham constituency and across Richmond Borough, including knife crime and vehicle and bicycle theft".

Local residents and police leaders have told Wilson of various crimes in the area, such as car, bicycle and motorcycle thefts. Some parents have also told the MP that their children are being targeted on their way home from school.

Wilson wrote: "I've been particularly struck over the past couple of years by the increasing number of young people who have raised knife crime with me when I have visited local schools and youth groups, in a way that was not the case when I was first elected.

"Our young people are clearly feeling anxious about their own safety on our streets.

"The general feeling of an increase in crime is backed up by statistics. Met Police data shows that knife crime increased by 51.2% in Richmond upon Thames in the year to February 2025, and theft by 11.6% in the same period.

"Whilst Richmond Borough is still statistically the safest borough in London, the increases in these figures should be cause for concern and are no doubt being seen elsewhere across London and, indeed, across the country."

The Liberal Democrat MP goes on to mention that "years of underfunding", cuts under previous Conservative Governments and retention of staff have played a part in crime increase.

Although the Government said it would increase police spending, Commissioner Mark Rowley believes it would not be enough to fill the £260m funding cap, with its "implications" being felt in the form of the recent decision to cut the Royal Parks Police unit.

"Apart from being concerned about the overall level of policing under the proposed changes, residents are concerned that police drawn from the wider geographical area may not have the same in-depth local knowledge as the specialist units," she continued.

"All of these issues show that what we desperately need — and what the Liberal Democrats have long been calling for — is a return to proper, and properly funded, community policing, so our bobbies can be back on the beat tackling crime.

"I have also raised with Ministers the desperate need to boost the international capital cities grant, which has faced real-terms cuts since 2015.

Whilst I was pleased to see the Home Office announce an uplift to this grant at the end of last year, I will continue to call for greater funding for our police across the capital, who I know work incredibly hard under often very difficult circumstances."

To read the full letter click here.

We want to provide Twickenham with more and more clickbait-free local news. To do that, we need a loyal newsletter following. Help us survive and sign up for our free weekly newsletter by clicking the link HERE.