Teenagers in Croydon are being preyed upon by groups of young rapists because of the emerging gang culture in the borough, a senior police watchdog has said.
Gang rape has trebled across London in the past four years, with Croydon a hotspot for the crime according to figures released by Scotland Yard last week.
More than a third of last year’s gang rape victims were 15 or younger according to the report, while almost two thirds were 19 or younger - while the age of suspects has also seen a marked drop.
Croydon MPA member Steve O’Connell, who is tasked with holding Croydon police to account, said the increase in gang rapes by younger children was linked to initiation ceremonies for criminal gangs.
He said: “It’s an immensely difficult crime to approach, but I think Croydon police and the central Sapphire team need to be working particularly on the gangs because I sense some of the ‘perps’, the people committing these crimes, may well be know on the gang radar.
“If that’s the case we need to get gang members off the streets.”
Mr O’Connell praised the Met’s decision to centralise its Operation Sapphire team, which investigates sex crimes, saying the move was vital to deal with crimes linked to cross border gangs - but added Croydon police still had an important role to play.
He said: “If I sense slippage I will come down on (Croydon police) like a tonne of bricks. There will be a very high expectation of (Borough Commander) Adrian Roberts to turn these figures around.”
Croydon police declined to comment.
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