Cricket Green Ward Update 28/08/09
WARD PRIORITY – BURGLARY SUCCESS
The team have had a fantastic success this week with some outstanding work from PC Simon Wallace. Whilst patrolling the ward this week PC Wallace identified two men in the area of the Mitcham Park Tram stop who were acting suspiciously. He detained them for a search and recovered the entire proceeds of a burglary that had just been committed in Croydon. Both men were arrested and the investigation is currently ongoing. The property has been restored to its rightful owner. Neither of the men lived in Mitcham and there was no real reason for them to be where they were. I am of the opinion that they were looking around for another place to burgle and that without PC Wallace’s intervention that we would have had another victim. We will continue to focus our efforts on tackling this type of crime.
WARD PRIORITY – THEFT FROM MOTOR VEHICLE
Vulnerable Vehicle Scheme
The Vulnerable Vehicle Scheme is aimed at reducing the amount of vehicles that are broken into, thereby reducing vehicle crime. Unfortunately some drivers are still leaving their property, often of value, in their cars in plain view of an opportunistic thief. Leaving valuables in sight will encourage a thief to break in. During the course of daily patrols we keep an eye out for vulnerable vehicles, which are vehicles that have property on show or have left windows or doors open.
The types of property that are often left on show are compact discs, mobile phones, MP3 players, laptops, handbags and wallets. Satellite Navigation systems are the thieves favourite at the moment and leaving the suction mount on the windscreen or even the mark left on the glass following removal can cause a thief to break in, so please take them with you and wipe away any marks from the windscreen.
When we come across a vulnerable vehicle we make a note of its registration, the make and model of the vehicle, where it was parked and why we consider it to be at risk. We then write to the registered keeper informing them why it came to our attention. The letter acts as a reminder to the owner to be more safety conscious in the future and will hopefully significantly reduce the crime in the area.
NUISANCE MOPEDS/MOTORBIKES – ARREST MADE
We have been suffering with a spate of mopeds and motorbikes being ridden in an anti-social manner on the London Road Playing Fields behind Fenning Court recently. This is a difficult problem for the team to tackle, as we do not have transport and travel on foot. This means that any motorbikes simply ride away from us when we approach. However the borough does now have an off road motorcycle capability and we now have some officers trained to ride our off road bikes (picture attached). We have been liaising with these officers and they have been patrolling the area when possible.
Today we received a call from a member of public letting us know a moped was on the playing fields. PCSO Henderson passed the information on to the control room and as a result we were able to get one of our motorbikes to attend. The moped was stopped by Sergeant Gary Cotton from the West Barnes Safer Neighbourhoods team about an hour ago. It was identified as a stolen moped and the rider was arrested and taken to Wimbledon Police Station. The moped was returned to its rightful owner.
MITCHAM FAIR
Mitcham fair was a successful event for the ward this year. As a result of our efforts there were no fair related offences reported at all during the ten days that the fair ran for. It was attended exclusively by families and their children and was an extremely safe and relaxed event. We will continue to police events like this in a similar manner to ensure that they are enjoyed by everyone.
CONTACT US
The Cricket Green Safer Neighbourhood Team can be contacted by phone on 020 8649 3576 or by email at Cricketgreen.SNT@met.police.uk
To report a Crime please call 0300 123 1212 or if it is an emergency please call 999.
Sergeant Dan Hutchings
