CommunitySafe.gov.uk

Back in September 2009 The Ward Panel met and agreed that house burglaries and vehicle crime should be our priorities and we set targets to reduce house burglary by 25% and thefts from motor vehicles by 15% between October and March compared to the following period the previous year. As you will see from the table below we have been successful in significantly reducing house burglaries. The number of thefts from vehicles has also dropped but we did not reach the target. House Burglary Month 2008/2009 2009/2010 October 8 3 November 6 5 December 4 5 January 11 1 February 5 3 March 10 2 Total 44 19 Vehicle Crime Month 2008/2009 2009/2010 October 1 2 November 1 2 December 10 7 January 2 5 February 5 4 March 8 4 Total 27 24 (Figures taken from www.met.police.uk except the March 2010 data which has yet to be published on the site) This does not mean we are complacent as the crime picked up again at the end of March with the 2 house burglaries and 3 thefts of number plates. Regarding the burglaries one house was in Westway, the other in Barnard Gardens. Both were entered by smashing a glass window at the rear during the night time hours. One of the hairdressers on West Barnes Lane was also entered recently after a brick was thrown through a front window. The team are changing their hours to do more night patrols to target this. In the meantime you can assist by checking your own security at the rear. Make sure the gates are locked and fencing is topped off with some trellis which will snap if someone tries to climb over. Also make sure there are no heavy loose items such as bricks or garden tools left in the garden which can be used to break a window. On a more positive note following the crime alert about 2 people pretending to be social workers entering elderly people’s houses 2 people have been arrested and there have been no further burglaries of this type on the Borough. The number plate thefts occurred in Blakes Terrace, Westway Close and Stanley Avenue. We still have special number plate screws which help prevent theft if you have not got yours yet. Also now available are the ‘don’t bother kits’ which are basically some information and a set of stickers advising no valuables have been left in the car. We can deliver all this to your house when next in your road. Other Team News The West Barnes SNT joined up with St Helier and Lower Morden Teams to conduct saturation patrols across the ward using a van and foot patrols. This resulted in three suspicious men stopped on our ward and we were involved in the arrest of a drunken man when we assisted the other teams on their wards. PC Worthy arrested a man for assault and he is currently on Police bail while the matter is investigated further. Graham Chapman PS 54VW 0208 721 2454 Email: westbarnes.snt@met.police.uk