London Green Party Assembly Member Jenny Jones has extended her sympathies and hopes for a full recovery to the officer in critical condition after being run over in a hit and run last night.
Over 68 people per week were injured in collisions involving “hit and run” drivers in London in 2011. Greater London Authority figures show an increase in these incidents, from 3090 collisions in 2009 to 3407 collisions in 2010 to 3535 collisions in 20 11.
The substantial number of illegal drivers in London, and their connection with criminal behaviour, is seen by the Metropolitan Police as the main reason for the large proportion of “hit and run” collisions.
Jenny said:
“Traffic police do one of the most dangerous jobs in the Met Police, being in the front line of dealing with London’s lawless roads. My sympathies are with this officer and I hope he recovers from what I believe should be treated as attempted murder. We should view the way people use a car in the same way as they use a knife or any other potentially lethal weapon.”
“The Met has made a lot of progress in tackling the problem of “hit and run” drivers in recent years by removing thousands of uninsured and unlicensed drivers from our streets. It is not an easy job; we must support the police in their efforts to crack down on these illegal and criminal drivers. We urgently need to make our streets safer and to send a clear message that illegal drivers will not be tolerated.”