Croydon police’s zero tolerance crackdown in north Croydon is aimed at driving criminals from the crime-plagued streets.

The campaign will target even the most minor offenders and aims to clean the streets of serious and petty crimes alike as well as vandalism and rubbish.

Superintendent Dave Stringer, leading the operation said: “We will seek to arrest absolutely anyone who is committing an offence then it will be up to courts and the CPS to decide what to do with them.”

The operation mirrors one carried out in New York during the early 80s where a crackdown on petty crimes, vandalism and work with local government saw poverty-stricken, crime-ridden areas made safe for the public again.

Similar tactics are being deployed in Thornton Heath, Broad Green, West Thornton, Bensham Manor and Selhurst.

Crime figures are expected to go through the roof as almost 100 extra officers saturate north Croydon as part of Operation Refresh.

Inspector Steve Lawrie, commanding the officers on the ground, said: “We’re really up for this, we’re going to get there. I am going to use every tool in the box I can.

“I want to dismantle the gangs that work in the north of the borough. We want criminals living in a state of fear.”

Close to 100 officers will be made available to Insp Lawrie as well as riot cops from the territorial support group (TSG), covert and overt officers from the uniform tasking unit (UTU) and other Croydon-based units.

The extra officers will join forces with the council and safer neighbourhood teams who are being retasked for the operation.

Previous gang operations by police have removed them from the town centre but many gangs have progressed into drug dealing and other criminal activities rather than petty squabbling between factions.

Young Asian gangs, particularly Tamil, are on the rise and this is something police want to tackle head on.

Supt Stringer said: “I expect the amount of recorded crime in the five wards to rise over the next few weeks then drop off once we have a better idea of who is carrying out the burglaries and the robberies.”

Existing SNT teams will continue with their community based policing but will get more target more serious crimes as well.

Broken Windows

Croydon cops are using the same tactic as their colleagues in New York during the 80s.

The broken window theory, which was trialed in New York’s inner city areas, saw graffiti targeted and the transport hubs cleaned for a sustained period of time.

The theory connected the effects of petty disorder and vandalism with more serious crimes and antisocial behaviour.

The theory states monitoring and maintaining communities keeps areas in a good condition and contributes significantly to the overall wellbeing of residents.

This in turn instills pride in a community for their area and has them take ownership of it, preventing vandalism and other petty crimes before they escalate to more serious ones.