Crouch End Direct 21

         On Thursday I will have been a Metropolitan Police officer for 25 'glorious' years. Younger officers, some of whom weren't born when I began my career, ask what the biggest change is since I began...and there have been many. The most significant change I have found is in communication. Both internally and externally I believe it has improved beyond recognition but that does not mean to say that it is by any means perfect. This newsletter and the availability of the local team do give people the opportunity to contact us more readily but I would be very interested to know of any ideas you may have regarding any possible improvements. Are we as 'accessible' and contactable' as you would like us to be? Please let me know your thoughts.

         You may remember last time I informed you that we were doing a series of night shifts to primarily combat vehicle crime and that I asked you to be specially vigilant through the night and to contact us with any dodgy goings on! Well, no-one contacted us over the three nights.......but then there were no crimes! No vehicle crimes at all were reported over the three night period and no burglaries either. The team were very pro - active stopping and searching a high number of well known individuals and patrolling the hot spot areas. We intend to repeat this tactic again in the coming weeks however we have to be mindful of our other priorities and responsibilities that require our presence at other times.

There have been crimes over the past couple of weeks as detailed below....  
Burglary:
Topsfield Parade                    Wed                   1500 - 1750                 Kitchen window open                Laptop

Crouch Hill                                 Fri                      1230 - 1730                Rear kitchen window forced      Laptop / purse                  

Bryanstone Road                     Fri                       0100 - 0500                Lock slipped                               Vehicle / wallet / mobile          

Bearing in mind these figures cover a two week period they are a little more encouraging. The last emphasises the importance of making sure all the security measures you do have in place are utilised as the front door was fitted with a chubb lock that wasn't used. The keys for the family car were taken and the vehicle driven away. There have been other borough resources in and around the area recently which has no doubt assisted in the reduction of offences. The Park Road leisure centre was also burgled over night.

Robbery:

Glasslyn Road                       Fri                       1535 - 1545                1 black 1 white susp              Threats / no property taken

The suspects in the above crime seemed to think twice as the potential victim was by all accounts a big lad! Some might say it's a pity they didn't try....but not me you understand. In all seriousness I have no doubt that they will target more vulnerable people in the future, particularly around the school so it would be nice to catch them!

There was also an incident in Coolhurst Road during which a schoolboys ipod was snatched from his pocket as he was opening the front door to his house. No violence was used so it is not officially a robbery but it is certainly a crime worthy of note.

Vehicle Crime:
Despite the success of the teams' operation there were still a number of crimes over the two week period. 6 of these took place in and around the Crouch Hall Road area with Birchington Road featuring 3 times. There were another 6 offences scattered around the ward ranging from damage to theft of and from the vehicles. As mentioned earlier we will be doing some more late shifts as the issue is undoubtedly an ongoing one!

Other News:
A few other things of note going on. There was a nasty incident on Hornsey Lane at about 1115 in the morning. A lady was barged into by a white male who was approximately 40 years old. When she remonstrated with him he head butted her in the face without warning. The male wasn't found despite a search of the area. Needless to say it was a shock to the victim but thankfully seems to be an isolated incident.

The distraction thieves have been at work again both at Lloyds and Barclays. In one of the incidents the victim was unaware that his card had been taken, thinking instead it had been retained by the machine. The suspects took the opportunity to utilise the card to the value of over £500.00 before it was eventually reported to the bank. If you have any doubt about a transaction at an ATM inform the bank immediately to minimise the potential effect.

The team have been busy dealing with ASB and the consequences of it. Arrests have been made for public order offences (shouting and swearing in the street), criminal damage and drink drive offences. Further meetings have taken place to improve the area around the Town Hall in respect of youths causing problems. We are hoping to get CCTV monitors positioned in our office to enable more comprehensive coverage. It appears technically possible but the cost has yet to be determined.........I will update you in due course.

This week we have with us some brand new police constables who have joined the borough and are experiencing Safer Neighbourhoods policing in Crouch End at first hand. We are utilising the extra personnel to conduct some road checks in conjunction with our colleagues from DVLA, an exercise that can throw up lots of crime related issues as well as vehicle licensing ones. We will also issue tickets for dangerous, inappropriate parking in the area which I know is an issue that concerns many of you. We will also be patrolling the vehicle and burglary hotspot areas.

I will be at the Area Assembly meeting on 30th January which is taking place at Coleridge School. I will be giving a short presentation on the Ward Panels but will be available to speak to anyone wishing to raise any issues in person.  

As I frequently mention please don't think that the focus on crime in the newsletter in any way detracts from the community issues that the team deal with on a daily basis. Whether it's problems with a neighbour, issues with rubbish or a visit to an AGM please let us know.

Thanks for taking the time to read the newsletter,
Regards
John McGrath
0208 649 3515