Kingston is one of the safest boroughs in London according to data published by Metropolitan Police.

The Met's annual crime data (April 2018-April 2019) showed that Kingston remains one of the safest boroughs in London regarding prevalence of crime.

It placed just behind Sutton, which had the lowest number of offences (12,551).

Richmond meanwhile were third with 12,871 offences recorded.

Overall, there were at total of 862,781 criminal offences reported in London between April 2018 - April 2019, with the total offences recorded in Kingston making up just 1.47 per cent of the overall figure for crime in the capital.

RBK collated a borough-specific response to the data, highlighting specific areas of improvement over the year.

For example, the council pointed out a 13 per cent reduction in drug offences, and a 40 per cent reduction in people apprehended with intention to steal.

The number of incidents of shoplifting were down 15.5 per cent in Kingston, while possession of firearms offences were down by 7.7 per cent from last year.

However, as with many other boroughs in London, the number of 'notifiable offences' in Kingston rose over the year, increasing 8.5 per cent overall.

Notifiable offences are those that the police are obliged to share with the Home Office for the government's own statistics.

Some offences, such as minor traffic offences, are recorded by the police ('recordable') without qualifying as notifiable.

Chief Superintendent Sally Benatar, South West BCU Commander, praised the Met Police teams in the area after the data was released.

"All the officers and staff from the South West Command Unit are working extremely hard with members of the community, partners and Kingston Council to prevent and investigate crime and harm.

"We are determined to provide the best possible service to members of the public whenever you need to call on us," she said.

Meanwhile Liz Green, leader of Kingston Council, said: "Our vision is that everyone who lives in, visits or works in our borough should be safe and feel safe.

"Along with the Police and our Safer Kingston Partnership colleagues, we will continue to do everything we can in order to reduce crime and keep Kingston safe."