CommunitySafe.gov.uk

The drive to prevent burglaries in Merton Park continues, and our advice now moves to reducing the risk to your home if you are away during the summer..

For those who are going away for any length of time, please, again, remember the simple things, which are often easy to overlook.

Cancel milk and newspapers if they are usually delivered.

Lock all windows and doors, and ensure any alarm you may have are set

If it is possible, arrange for friends to come in to your home and give the impression of ‘business-as -usual’ ie curtains or blinds drawn at night, post removed from letterboxes.

If you have a drive-way, then why not arrange for a friend to use it for their vehicle whilst you are away, again, this gives the impression that the house is being used day-to-day.

Leaving a radio on, perhaps on a timer during the day, may deter any potential opportunist burglar from trying your home.

If away for an extended period of time, consider making arrangements to have routine garden maintenance, such as lawn-cutting, carried out. Although the current dry spell may well limit lawn-growth, a well kept garden might soon show signs of lack of care after a number of weeks away

The 3 residential burglaries which have occurred in the ward this month have not been focused on any one area, and so vigilance is sought across the whole ward please.

AGAIN, we remind residents to always lock windows, and use the deadlock to double the front door please. This simple method may have prevented at least 1 of the offences in July

Those burglaries which have occurred have taken place between 1030am and 7.45pm, so as usual, we welcome any information, no matter how trivial it may seem, surrounding suspicious persons or vehicles.

Thank you for your continued vigilance and assistance in reducing burglaries.

You may contact us via either 0208 721 2451 or Mertonpark.SNT@met.police.uk

Tackling hate crime is a priority for Merton, which is why Merton has teamed up with Stop Hate UK to provide emotional and practical support for anyone, who has experienced hate crime.

Whatever your age, race, disability, sexual orientation or whether you are transgender, no one has the right to intimidate, hurt or harass you because they perceive you to be different.

Merton defines a hate crime as a ‘criminal offence which is perceived, by the victim or any other person, to be motivated by a hostility or prejudice based on a person’s actual or perceived sexual orientation, gender identity, race, religion or disability’.

If you feel you have been a victim of this crime you can report it to Stop Hate UK 24 hours a day. Stop Hate UK are an independent charity and everything you tell them is kept confidential. You have the option to remain anonymous if you wish. Stop Hate UK can be contacted by phone, email, text, post and online. Stop Hate UK can speak to victims about hate crime in their preferred language if required.

Telephone: 0800 138 1625
Website: www.stophateuk.org
Email: talk@stophateuk.org

Merton Police have launched Operation Lockdown, a three month burglary initiative which will employ a range of tactics to disrupt burglary, gain intelligence and arrest and convict offenders in identified hotspots across the Borough.

Whilst the number of burglary offences across the Borough remain relatively low, there has been a recent rise in the number of opportunist burglaries where entry has been gained through open windows and unlocked doors. Many of these could be avoided.

Merton Park Residents are reminded to lock doors and windows when they go out, to keep ground floor doors and windows closed and secure when they go to bed and not to leave expensive and valuable items in view of passers by. Simple measures and some extra care will go along way to preventing you from becoming a victim of burglary.

Dear Ms McDonagh,

In response to your letter dated 6th July 2010 (Re: Crime and Anti Social Behaviour at Phipps Bridge).

We pay particular focus to the content of our MPs letters and an audit of our system reveals that we are not in receipt of your earlier letter (dated 1st July 2010). If the matters raised in the letter still require a response please would you be so kind as to re-send a copy and I will ensure I give them it my prompt attention.

Within your letter (6th July) you feel that the ‘the tennis’ is not really the point. I disagree. You are aware that the headline within the Wimbledon Guardian; …‘MP hits out at Mitcham police after shooting and triple stabbing’ within the article you are quoted “Police are more bothered about policing the Wimbledon Championships than the troubled streets of Mitcham the area’s MP has claimed…” Such headlines and supporting comments do little to promote community confidence or reassurance. (I am meeting with the editor and the journalist next week to express my concerns).

I have no doubt you will be able to forward details of the officers who stated that they were - “too busy to help you because of the Wimbledon Championships.” You are absolutely right, and I agree with you, such a message is inappropriate and I am looking for your help to identify and understand who within my command would say something which is so blatantly incorrect. I have made local enquires and no one recalls having had such a conversation.

I am sorry that at the meeting you felt that the impression given by police was that the Mitcham area was a low policing priority, quite the opposite is true. As discussed, my initial assessment of the boroughs deployment and demand profile reveals a substantial amount of our (finite) movable resources are given to the East of the borough. As an MP you will be conscious that as part of the conditions attached to Safer Neighbourhood teams funding arrangements the last government dictated that they should be ring fenced in their designated wards. I have briefed you in relation to my frustrations as to not having been allowed to move this valuable resource around the borough (however see further paragraphs for recent update).

You contend that there was a history of community unease in relation to groups of youths associating in the area and that the community members were concerned about numerous criminal and anti-social acts. The adage “You only know what you know” is a truism in relation to policing. Unless the residents report these issues to police we are unable to build an accurate intelligence picture and take appropriate action. As you are aware under ECHR legislation everybody has the right to associate freely without state interference. Without proper intelligence it is difficult to justify enforcement interventions. I will direct my safer neighbourhood teams to encourage increased reporting in order to give greater justification to future disruption activity.

You feel that ‘if the police had identified that there was a problem and had dealt with ‘the group’ appropriately the stabbings would not have taken place’. I am disappointed that you hold this view. As discussed this incident was spontaneous without any pre-planning. The offender was not known to police in the London area and there was nothing we could have done to prevent the crime from happening. Hindsight is a wonderful gift. When incidents like this happen people are quick to go to the press and it’s easy to blame the police. I readily acknowledge that we are the lead agency in relation to enforcement activity; however the causational factors which lead to criminality are many and varied.

The service (in my opinion) has a disappointing history of failing to respond to unfair criticism when many of the crime related social problems we face today are the result of years of failed parenting, failed education, failed social inclusion policies, ineffective border/integration policies and a distinct lack of investment in diversionary or rehabilitation activity. These failures are the responsibility of many, (including those in government) not just the police.

In this role I have ownership of the borough’s criminal intelligence profile and have a good understanding of those believed to be involved in more serious and organised crime. You are right (and I agree) that whether those intent on crime are members of a gang or otherwise is really a mute point. The more important issue is what is being done about it. I hope that when we next meet I can reassure you that we are trying hard to service the policing needs of the borough (although as discussed due to the legacy of national debt; continuing current operational capability will be an increasing challenge).

You have asked for a copy of the boroughs deployment profile. This is a restricted document as it specifically details both our operational capacity and capability. I will of course share the details with you when we next meet. I can however brief you on Merton’s policing model:

The borough’s operational workforce profile can be split into four main areas Response, Safer Neighbourhood Teams (SNT), CID and Operational Support. The Response officers deal with calls from the public and answer calls anywhere within Merton. The CID investigates reported crimes and deal with crime related prisoners, Operational support include the Merton crime squad, the Merton task force and other distinct units (i.e. the Merton sex offenders unit). They are deployed where the intelligence takes them (as stated predominantly in the East of the borough). The SNTs as discussed are rigid in number and are equally distributed (ring fenced in relation to movement) throughout the borough to provide local contact, visibility and reassurance. Apart from the SNT the deployment of resources is intelligence led & reactive to where crime is taking place. You are correct in your view that our ‘demand profile’ reveals that the majority of crime takes place within the East of the borough

It is also worthy of note that Merton is one of the boroughs affected by low crime rates within the MPS. As of last week the MPS had suffered 204918 Crimes so far this financial year. Merton is one of 32 London boroughs and in comparison we experienced 3670 which equates to just 1.8% of all London’s crime. A more strategic view could be that in light of the low Merton crime rate many of the boroughs resources would be better placed in the high crime rate boroughs (Lambeth, Hackney and Southwark etc.). This of course is something I hope to avoid as it is my intention to keep Merton crime levels as low as possible.

In my short time here so far, I have worked hard to understand the demands and constraints associated with delivering effective performance on the borough. Historic and entrenched ways of working will not deliver the performance needed in the new economic environment. In order to justify the retention of our current officer/staff numbers we will need to demonstrate how we can be both dynamic and flexible in meeting policing demands ensuring that we re-focus our activities where the public needs us most.

As you are aware Merton borough consists of twenty wards. We have recently completed comprehensive analysis of the borough in relation to crime mapping. Based on historical annual trends supported by management information and recent up to date intelligence it is clear that 5 wards present a real opportunity to improve our borough crime performance: Abbey, Colliers Wood, Cricket Green, Figges Marsh & Lavender Fields.

Starting Monday 19th July the borough will commence ‘Operation Lockdown’ which will be focused on preventing priority crimes in these 5 wards. A headline for this operation is that I have secured central agreement that I can pilot the concept of SNT staff on the remaining 15 wards providing substantial assistance to the Lockdown wards (although still aligned to their local wards). I am very excited about this opportunity for the borough to demonstrate both dynamism and flexibility as the rest of the MPS watches to see how it will work.

Reading your letter I am obviously delighted that you are committed to, and demonstrate, such a strong desire to ensure that the police provide a good service for all Merton’s communities. I totally share this view. I hope that we will be able to rely on your continued support in the future. As requested I will copy both your letter and this response to the community safe email group for sake of both completeness and closure.

Yours Sincerely

___________________________
Dick Wolfenden
Merton Borough Police Commander

Dear Mr Wolfenden

Re: Crime and Anti Social Behaviour at Phipps Bridge

Thank you for taking the trouble to write to me on 3 July about some comments I made to a journalist who was at the meeting I arranged to help the police reassure local people about policing on the Phipps Bridge estate. I spoke to the journalist after the meeting, after the conversation I had with you, and after the letter of 1 July that I wrote to you expressing my concerns about the meeting, to which I have yet to receive a reply.

The journalist attended the meeting, and he clearly felt that the approach of officers at the meeting was not as good as it could have been. I mentioned, as I did to you, that in my dealings with your officers they had told me that they were rather too busy to help me, due to the Wimbledon Championships. I hope it will be clear to you now that this is a totally inappropriate message to give a local community representative. However, the tennis is not really the point.

My concern was not about the high priority given to the tennis – although I do regularly hear complaints about this – but about the impression that was given at the meeting that Mitcham was a low priority. Although we are all very happy that you have found the suspects involved in the stabbing, more than a hundred residents would not have attended the meeting if they were not concerned about far wider issues. Specifically, they were concerned about numerous criminal and anti-social acts in the area by the same group of young men, including a drive-by shooting, various acts of intimidation, and an assault on a drinker.

As I explained to you on the phone and in my letter of 3 July, the response of officers at the meeting was to argue about the semantics of whether the group committing these acts was a gang or not. However, the truth is that if the police had identified that they were a problem and had dealt with them appropriately, the stabbings would not have taken place. Arguing about semantics was, therefore, seen by people at the meeting as unnecessarily argumentative, and as complacent.

Moving to your point about your recent examination of the Borough’s deployment profile, I would be grateful if you could let me have a copy of this profile. I am pleased that you believe the East of the Borough is as well serviced as the West, and should like confirmation from you that the deployment of resources is linked to the rate of crime in each neighbourhood. As you know, the crime rate in the East is approximately twice the rate of the West, and the rate in Cricket Green is roughly three times greater than in most of Wimbledon. Therefore for you to be satisfied that Mitcham “suffers no detriment in resource allocation”, I assume your figures will show that deployment is roughly three times greater in Phipps Bridge than in the West of the Borough, and roughly double in the rest of my constituency. Can you confirm that this is correct?

Finally, I can assure you I am absolutely determined in my efforts to ensure the police provide good public services for all of Merton’s communities. This is why I arrange regular opportunities for officers to promote their work at events I organise in Mitcham and Morden. Sometimes this is in response to particular crimes, but I have also arranged numerous meetings to introduce residents to their Safer Neighbourhood Teams, or to publicise the police’s ability to help deal with crime and anti-social activities in certain hotspots.

In this spirit, I will be contacting you separately in order to arrange a meeting in the Armfield Crescent area, where residents are worried that gang activity (or something very similar to gang activity) led to a separate shooting incident just over a week ago. It would be really good if the local police service could use this opportunity to show that they desperately care about our local residents and have a proper plan to ensure residents feel safer in their own neighbourhoods.

I hope that this is helpful, and look forward to your reply to this letter and that of 1 July. Since you have copied your correspondence to the Merton Community Safe email group, I am happy for you to circulate this letter to the same recipients on my behalf, or for you to let me have their details in order for me to email them all separately. I will, of course, only use those details for this purpose and not for any other reasons.

Yours sincerely,




Siobhain McDonagh

Dear Ms McDonagh,

I am writing to you in order to express my concern in relation to the quotes apparently attributed to you within Thursday’s (1st July) Wimbledon Guardian: Headline “MP hits out at Mitcham Police after shooting and triple stabbing.”

Within the article you are quoted:- “Do they [the police] care at all? It seems they’re more bothered policing the All England Club than they are about the lives of people in Mitcham. Three people have been stabbed and less than a year earlier; a teenager was seriously injured in a drive-by-shooting. But the police want to argue over the semantics of what gang means.”

First and foremost our efforts are specifically directed at trying to keep ‘all’ Merton residents and those who frequent the borough as safe as possible. As you are aware London can present logistical challenges in relation to policing large and significant events. Over the course of any calendar year this borough will be expected to supply officers to help police these events which are held at various locations off the borough. The All England Tennis Championships are no different and we rely on reciprocal arrangements where significant numbers of external resources from other boroughs are drafted in to assist. The planning and preparation for the event is both thorough, detailed and takes into account the ongoing policing needs of the borough to ensure our day-to-day borough policing commitment is always maintained.

Within the article you make reference to instances of serious assaults which have been committed within your constituency. The police responded quickly and have charged an individual. I have met the victims and the family members who (contrary to the article) feel that Merton police have done a good job. For some time now we have been considering the intelligence picture which informs our deployment of resources. An examination of the borough’s most recent deployment profile reveals that the East (Mitcham) side of the borough is well serviced by deployable proactive resources (extra officers) and suffers no detriment in resource allocation when compared to the West side of the borough (Wimbledon).

I must confess that I am struggling to understand what point you are trying to make in relation to the ‘semantics of gangs’ issue, suffice to say that (no doubt like yourself) I have no time for men of violence. Whether or not individuals are ‘gang’ affiliated, I can assure you that the police are doing what they reasonably can to prevent and detect such instances of serious harm.

Although I am immensely proud of the work that is conducted on a daily basis by the officers on Merton borough, I don’t for one minute think that the police get it right on every occasion and there are always improvements that can be made. Rest assured that (contrary to your comments within the article) we actually do care very much and it’s because we care that irresponsible & sensationalised media coverage such as this can have a significant impact on staff morale.

Finally I welcome the views, challenges (and hopefully) support of other key public officials and hope that we are all united in our efforts to try and provide good public services for all of Merton’s communities.

Yours Sincerely

__________________________________
Dick Wolfenden
Merton Borough Police Commander

DRIVE OUT VEHICLE CRIME
Come and get your free ‘Secur-I-Disc’ tamper proof tax disc holder as part of an ongoing campaign to drive out vehicle crime in the Borough. The ‘Secur-I Disc’ tax disc holder prevents the re-use of a tax disc, thereby making it pointless to steal.
Merton Police Crime Prevention Advisor PC Greg HUNT said, "This is our final intervention of the ‘Drive Out Vehicle Crime’ campaign which has been a real success in getting the message out to the public to take valuables with them and to secure their vehicles. We hope the Merton residents will continue in this trend to keep ‘theft from vehicle’ statistics down”.

The ‘Secur-I-Disc’ tamper proof tax disc holder are available free of charge by contacting your local Safer Neighbourhood Team.

For further crime reduction advice contact your local Safer Neighbourhood Team on Merton.park.SNT@met.police.uk

For any further information please contact your local Safer Neighbourhood Team via the main Met Police website by telephone or by e-mail. If you wish to become a member of Community safe and sign up to free crime alerts and news of what your local safer Neighbourhood Team is up to please contact them direct or join via www.communitysafe.gov.uk

When you are next on-line, consider visiting WWW.Immobilise.com

This site is an excellent way to register your valuable items, FREE OF CHARGE on a database which is securely accessible by police services.

Any property can be registered, from jewellery and watches to laptops, ‘i-pads’ and cycles.

The site is easy to use, free of charge, and makes the chances of police recovering your property far higher. Thank you for continuing to use communitysafe

You may have seen the reminder notices at locations within the southern part of the ward, pertaining to vehicle crime

These have been erected in response to an increase in theft from motor vehicles this month. We urge all motorists to be careful when leaving property in their vehicles

To date, a Satellite Navigation system and sports equipment were taken from two separate vehicles. A set of unlocked ladders were taken from a van, and a set of number plates removed from a car.

All these were potentially preventable, either by removing the items and placing them out of sight, locking the items, or by the use of tamper-proof / one-way screws.

Merton Park SNT strongly recommends always locking your vehicle when leaving it, and removing valuable items from the vehicle if t all possible.

We are identifying high-risk vehicles across the ward, and contacting the owners, in writing, reminding them to not leave valuables on show.

We are grateful to you for your co-operation in connection with this matter.

As ever, if you have any queries do please contact us via Mertonpark.SNT@met.police.uk, or, our dedicated telephone number 0208 721 2451

Thank you for continuing to subscribe to communitysafe

Our focus remains upon residential burglary. With the warmer weather now upon us, it is appropriate that our usual reminder, to close and lock doors and windows whenever one leaves the house, is repeated.
There has been a slight increase in offences, affected via ground floor windows, usually at the rear of the houses in question.

Please ensure that YOU always close AND LOCK doors and windows on leaving your home.

Motor vehicle Focus.

We are also increasing our attention around theft from Motor Vehicles. It will, perhaps, be no surprise to learn that Satellite Navigation systems are a favoured target for would be thieves. Please consider removing the system, including the holders from windscreens or dashboards whenever leaving your cars

Please also consider thefts from vans. If you have tradesmen calling at your home to carry out work, please ensure that they LOCK the doors on vans.

We have seen some opportunistic offences where tools, and other saleable items, have been removed, during daytime hours, from unattended and UNLOCKED vans.

Please remember the old advice to ‘Lock it, or lose it !‘

Thank you for continuing to use COMMUNITYSAFE

DRIVE OUT VEHICLE CRIME
Come and get your vehicle security checked and a FREE goodie bag as part of an ongoing campaign to drive out vehicle crime in the Borough

Events will be organised by your local Safer Neighbourhood Teams during this month that will be advertised via the Met Police website or via Community Safe - a FREE warn and inform scheme being run by Merton Police.

Professional advice on all aspects of potential vehicle crime and criminality including number plate security, Satellite Navigation safety, car security alarms/ immobilisers, accident prevention and window etching will be available.

PC Greg HUNT Crime Prevention Advisor for Merton Police said; “By following simple steps such as locking your car and removing valuable items from your vehicle, you will significantly reduce the chance of becoming a victim of vehicle crime. Thieves will target cars which are insecure or where they can see items such as mobile phones or satellite navigation systems through the window. The aim of our campaign is to educate motorists on how to reduce the risk.”
The Partnership will be giving away goodies to remind everyone to secure their vehicles and take valuables with them. Autoglass will be offering free windscreen health checks and will repair windscreen chips for free if the policy holder has fully comprehensive insurance.
For any further information please contact your Merton Park Safer Neighbourhood Team via the main Met Police website by telephone 0208 721 2451 or by e-mail MertonPark.SNT@met.police.uk. If you wish to become a member of Community safe and sign up to free crime alerts and news of what Merton Park Safer Neighbourhoods Team is up to please contact us direct

You will remember that the last community safe update included details of a burglary which had occured in Sandbourne Avenue.

We are now able to confirm that a fifteen year old male, who cannot be named for legal reasons, has been arrested and charged in connection with that offence.

When we are able to provide more details, we will do so.

Our advice to residents continues to be to ALWAYS, please, lock doors and windows when leaving the home.

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It has come to our attention that the value of scrap metal has increased recently.

This is leading to a rise in the theft of metals of many types, from many sources

Merton Park officers are aware that there are very many wrought iron garden gates across the ward.

We are keen to urge all residents to ensure that their gate cannot be easily removed from its post.

It is possible to secure your gates. Make sure that the gate hinges are fixed in such a way as to prevent the gate being swiftly removed from its post by would-be thieves.

Our contact number, either to pass on details of vehicles carrying scrap metal, or to obtain more advice on how to secure your gates, is 0208 721 2451

Thank You for continuing to use community safe

Mertonpark.SNT@met.police.uk

Welcome to the April edition of the communitysafe update.

As is usual, the first update is connected to burglary. During the month to date there have been 2 non-residential, and 1 residential burglary, with no attempts being made.

The non-residential premises were a shed, and a garage. Fishing equipment was taken from one, and a tool from the other.

The residential premises targeted was in Sandbourne Avenue. Force was used on the front door to gain entry. A forensic recovery has been made from the address.

With Spring (nearly) here, it is probably a good time to remind you to close and lock all doors and windows when you leave the house.

Burglary continues to be at a lower level this year than last in Merton Park, our thanks to you for helping us achieve and maintain this.

If you want further home security advice, there are several places you may wish to look.

WWW.securedbydesign.com is an approved website with several options for you consider if you are looking to add, install or upgrade your home security systems.

Pc Greg Hunt is Merton Borough’s Crime Prevention Design advisor, and he can be contacted on 0208 649 3245.

Pcso Will Dauncey is Merton Park’s local specialist advisor. He can be reached either via our dedicated ward telephone on 0208 721 2415, or via our website of Mertonpark.SNT@met.police.uk

As a footnote, and with reference to vehicle crime, please also ALWAYS remove any tempting items from sight when leaving your car parked up for any period of time.
This is especially true of equipment such as Satellite navigation systems, and their holders

As ever, please feel free to contact us by either 0208 721 2451 or Mertonpark.SNT@met.police.uk

Get your free ‘Don’t Bother’ kit as part of an ongoing campaign to drive out vehicle crime in the Borough
Merton Police and Safer Merton are handing out free ‘Don’t Bother kits’ to motorists within the Borough. Theft from vehicles accounts for 66% of all recorded vehicle crime. The don’t bother kit helps educate the vehicle owner to remove valuables. It also tells a would be thief that valuables have been removed from that vehicle.

Merton Police Crime Reduction Advisor Pc Greg HUNT said, "The Partnership is committed to keeping crime low by reducing vehicle crime. Theft from motor vehicle is on the increase and all too often the thief steals property left out on open display in the vehicle. The ‘Don’t Bother Kit tells the thief that everything of value has been taken from the vehicle. Taking a few seconds to remove any valuables from your vehicle may save you hundreds of pounds in repairing a broken window and replacing your valuables. This runs alongside the vulnerable vehicle scheme already being run by your Safer Neighbourhood Teams. If officers out on patrol discover something of value left out on open display in a vehicle they will contact the registered keeper and warn them of the perils of their actions. This will either be in person at the time or by the Teams writing to the registered keeper if not local. This information may well be shared with insurance companies in the event of a claim which may affect that claim”
The don’t bother kits are available free of charge at the Partnership Road shows through the year or by contacting your local Safer Neighbourhood Team. For further crime reduction advice contact your local Safer Neighbourhood Team.
For any further information please contact your local Safer Neighbourhood Team via the main Met Police website by telephone or by e-mail. If you wish to become a member of Community safe and sign up to free crime alerts and news of what your local safer Neighbourhood Team is up to please contact them direct or join via www.communitysafe.gov.uk.

You will be aware, I am sure, that we take the threat of your home being targeted by burglars very seriously.

We are currently aware of an increase in the number of offences occurring adjacent to, but NOT YET WITHIN Merton Park Ward.

This is especially true for the North-eastern part of the ward, and Roads which we are particularly targeting as being vulnerable include the northern part of Dorset Road; Erridge Road, Melrose Road, Church Lane, Sheridan Road and Kingston Road to ' The Rush '

We hope that, if you have not already, you will very shortly be receiving a double-sided flyer from us detailing some simple home prevention advice, and a ‘quick-guide’ to home security, which highlights key areas to consider around your home

Please be assured that the number of residential burglary offences in Merton Park for this year-to-date is almost half of that for 2009; 8 offences in 2010 compared to 15 in the same period 2009. With your help, we can keep it that way. Thank You

Below we have re-produced an outline of the information held on the flyers. We hope you find it of use.

1. Close and lock all your doors and windows, even if you are only going out for a few minutes

2. Always keep sheds and outbuildings locked

3. Register all identifiable items with a serial number, FREE OF CHARGE at WWW.IMMOBILISE.COM

4. Never leave your car keys or identity documents near doors, letterboxes or windows. Hallways are especially vulnerable

5. Always check who is at the door. Don’t open it if you are unable to verify who the person is

6. Mark or etch valuable property with your postcode, house or flat number or the first three letters of your house name

7. Keep valuables out of sight away from windows if possible

8. Consider fitting timers to lights, or installing a burglar alarm

9. Cancel papers or other deliveries if you will be away for a few days.

10.Consider letting a friend borrow your driveway, to give the illusion of occupancy in you home

A QUICK HOME SECURITY CHECK

FRONT OF HOUSE
• Do trees/shrubs need cutting back, do they shield windows or doors
• Is there lighting
• Is there easy access to garden tools or other items a burglar could see
• Where is the dustbin kept, can it be used as a climbing aid
REAR OF HOUSE
• Is the shed locked
• Is the side gate locked (if applicable)
• Is there easy access to the back garden
FRONT DOOR
• Is there a solid front door
• Is the frame on good repair
• Is there a five lever mortice lock
WINDOWS
• Do not leave windows open
• Are locks fitted
• Garage security! Locks, alarms, lighting
INSIDE THE HOUSE
• Do you have valuables on display
• Do you have timer switches fitted to lights
• Is your property marked and serial numbers recorded

We understand that leaflets are being distributed through letterboxes from a ‘charity’, requesting unwanted medicines, claiming that the medicines can be sent to third world countries for use in those countries

The flyer is bright yellow with black writing. It indicates that members of the public should place any unused or unwanted medicines in a supplied plastic bag and then left on their doorstep for collection on an allocated day.

This is not believed to be legitimate. There are clear and serious safety issues with regard to medicines being left on doorsteps where they may be accessed by those for whom they are not prescribed.

This was reported to the Royal Pharmaceutical Society as having occurred in Redbridge, but it is possible that there have been other ‘schemes’ in other parts of the Metropolitan Police area, or indeed further afield.

If any resident receives a leaflet of this kind they are asked NOT to dispose of 'unwanted' medicines in this way.

Any residents who are in possession of unwanted or expired medicines are urged to return them to a dispensing chemist for safe disposal.

If you, or someone that you know, has received such a leaflet, we urge you to inform your local Police Safer Neighbourhood Team in the first instance, and not to respond to the plea for prescribed medicines, Thank You.

Since the start of February to date ( 11th March ) there have been 3 residential burglaries within the whole of Merton Park. These occurred in roads to the south and east of the ward.

Entry at one was via the UNLOCKED rear patio doors, and we urge ALL residents to please ensure that ALL doors and windows are locked whenever they leave their homes.

Burglars have been successfully thwarted at 4 other premises. Although attempts were made, entry was unsuccessful due to the security measures home-owners had taken.

Merton Park Police Community Support Officer, Will Dauncey is now able to give bespoke Crime Prevention advice to Merton Park residents free of charge

Having been on the ward for nearly 2 years, he is excellently placed to give advice around security within your home. He is able to consider the local issues particularly affecting your road as well as general security measures specific to your house.

Please contact us, either via mertonpark.SNT@met.police.uk or 0208 721 2451 to arrange a visit to your home at a time which is convenient to you.

More general advice on products available to home owners is available on www.securedbydesign.com

Finally, a warm welcome to our latest members, many of who live in or around Daybrook Road and Kenley Road. We hope that you find this free service useful. Should you wish to recommend it to others, then please ensure they sign up to Merton Police - Merton Park
Thank You

Get your free sat nav dusters/screen wipes as part of an ongoing campaign to drive out vehicle crime in the Borough
Merton Police and Safer Merton are handing out the complimentary wipes and dusters to wipe away the suction marks left by a satellite navigation system on your car windscreen. Even if you have taken your ‘sat nav’ with you, thieves spotting a suction mark may break in to see if it has been hidden in the glove box.
Getting rid of the marks will hopefully deter criminals looking for the tell tale signs and reduce the risk of unnecessary damage and cost to your vehicle.
Supt Pete DOBSON Partnership lead for Merton Police said, “I fully support this scheme and I urge the public of Merton to secure their vehicles, keep them free of valuables and remove suction marks to help reduce vehicle crime”.
Merton Police Crime Reduction Advisor Pc Greg HUNT said, "The Partnership is committed to keeping crime low by reducing vehicle crime. The theft of satellite navigation systems is one of the highest crimes at the moment, so taking a few seconds to get rid of the suction mark on your windscreen may save you hundreds of pounds in repairing a broken window and paying for a new sat nav”.
Screen wipes and sat nav dusters are available free of charge at the Partnership Roadshows through the year or by contacting your local Safer Neighbourhood Team. For further crime reduction advice contact your local Safer Neighbourhood Team.
For any further information please contact your local Safer Neighbourhood Team via the main Met Police website by telephone or by e-mail. If you wish to become a member of Community safe and sign up to free crime alerts and news of what your local safer Neighbourhood Team is up to please contact them direct or join via www.communitysafe.gov.uk.

Reporting terrorist material online 1 February 2010
We're providing members of the public with information about what they can do if they come across violent extremist, terrorist and hate content online.
The new webpage on www.Directgov will include a form for people to report suspected terror-related and violent extremist websites to the police.
The pilot scheme aims to make the internet a more hostile environment for terrorists and violent extremists who seek to exploit modern technology. If a website meets the threshold for illegal content, officers can exercise powers under section 3 of the Terrorism Act 2006 to take it down.
What can be reported? Illegal terrorism content Any information that is intended to be useful to terrorists is illegal, including:
bomb-making instructions
guides to making poisons
instructions on how to make weapons
guides to targets.
Illegal violent extremist content Some violent extremist content is also illegal. This might include:
videos of beheadings with messages of ‘glorification’ or praise for the attackers
speeches or essays calling for racial or religious violence
messages intended to stir up hatred against any religious or ethnic group
chat forums with postings calling for people to commit acts of terrorism.
Illegal hate content The content of a website is illegal when it threatens or harasses a person or a group of people because of their race, religion, sexual orientation, disability or gender identity. That could be in words, pictures, videos, and even music.
Illegal hate content might include:
messages calling for racial or religious violence
web pages that show pictures, videos or descriptions of violence against people due to their race, religion, disability, sexual orientation or gender identity
chat forums where people ask other people to commit hate crimes

Many of you will recall the discovery, by Merton Park Safer Neighbourhoods Team, of a cannabis factory in Circle Gardens, Merton Park, early in December of 2009.
A male was arrested in the premises at the time, on suspicion of cultivation of cannabis, when around 400 plants were discovered in the premises.

Since that time the male has been held on remand pending court trial.

We are now able to report that Mr Duc Van VO, a 22 year old male has been found guilty of the offence and has been sentenced to 18 months imprisonment.
Mr Van VO is a foreign national.

He has also been recommended for automatic deportation from the UK.

Sgt Harman said “ I stated at the time that this arrest had helped to disrupt criminal activity in South London. This sentence, and deportation order, underline that the Criminal Justice System as a whole will not tolerate the manufacture, supply or use of cannabis, or other controlled drugs “

Those who seek to grow cannabis on a commercial scale will often seek the cover of less busy, residential areas to do so. The renting of private homes is not an unusual cover.

It is therefore local residents who are likely to be first to notice the small signs, that something may be out-of-place.
Key things to look for are
> Windows being sealed or shuttered or curtains and blinds permanently drawn.

> Homes being unoccupied for long periods with erratic visits to the premises at unusual times.

> Large amounts of soil, compost or flower pots at an address, perhaps dumped in gardens.

> At this time of year, an absence of frost or snow on the roof of the house when adjacent homes have those ( The ‘factories’ can generate large amounts of heat and so melt snow or frost, or prevent it from forming on the roofs of houses )

If residents have any suspicions at all, they are urged to either contact their local Safer Neighbourhoods Team ( Merton Park 0208 721 2451 ) or to contact Crimestoppers in complete confidence on 0800 555 111. The Crimestoppers call can be anonymous and is free.

Firstly a welcome to the near 130 new members who have signed up to Merton Park Communitysafe over the weekend. We hope you find this free service useful and informative.

There have been two attempted burglaries recently where suspects took tools from a garden shed in order try and then force entry to the home.

This demonstrates two key things which those who have been with ‘communitysafe’ for a while, will be very familiar with.

ALWAYS, please lock all doors and windows on leaving your home, AND please ensure that sheds and garages are also secured.

Understandably, many residents store tools in sheds and garages. It is therefore highly likely that potential thieves will try their luck in a shed or garage before even thinking about entering your home.

It is important to remember that what may be a spade, fork or pair of shears in your hands can easily be turned into a jemmy by a potential burglar. Do please consider this when securing your tools.

It may be well worth investing a few pounds to improve the security of your shed, or garage, this spring.

We are pleased to say that both attempts at entering the homes in question were unsuccessful, as the owners had locked the rear doors and windows where the attempted entry was made.

Please be assured that we continue to take the issue of burglary seriously.

If you see ANY activity which you believe to be suspicious, then please ring 999 if you feel a crime is about to be committed.

Thank You

Merton Park Safer Neighbourhoods Team

Mertonpark.SNT@met.police.uk or 0208 721 2451

You may be aware of increased congestion, in the vicinity of Wimbledon Town Centre this afternoon, Thursday 28th January.

This is due to a controlled explosion of a package within Wimbledon District Line Underground Station

Please be assured that the package concerned was completely harmless, and that there is no cause for concern.

Your continued vigilance in bringing suspicious packages to the attention of Police is helpful.

If it is possible for your route to avoid Wimbledon Town centre, we would ask that you do so in order to minimise congestion.

In the second of seven planned vehicle crime reduction interventions under the ‘Drive out Vehicle Crime’ campaign, Police across Merton are handing out free security screws to motorists to secure thier car number plates.

Merton Police and Safer Merton are advising motorists to secure their number plates using security fixings to prevent them from being stolen. Once fitted, they cannot be removed using a normal screwdriver.

Merton Park Safer Neighbourhoods team has previously given out free security fixings. This helped in reducing the number of offences from 11 in 2008, to just 5 last year within the ward. However, it would be wrong to be complacent about this crime, as across Merton Borough as a whole, 11% of all recorded thefts are theft of number plates.

Pc Wilkins from Merton Park Safer Neighbourhoods Team said "Merton Police is committed to keeping crime low by reducing vehicle crime. The theft of a vehicle number plate may appear to be a minor crime but it is an inconvenience and causes a financial cost to the car owner. In some cases stolen plates are then used to facilitate further offences. The use of security fixings can prevent your number plate from being stolen.

Merton Police are also investigating all such reports and speaking to all victims of this type of crime to ascertain the circumstances behind the theft. If reports are found to be false to avoid parking fines and congestion charging then robust action will be taken against those making that report.”

Security screws are available free of charge at the Partnership Roadshows through the year or via your local Safer Neighbourhood Team.
For any further information please contact your local Safer Neighbourhood Team via the main Met Police website by telephone or by e-mail. If you wish to become a member of Community safe and sign up to free crime alerts and news of what your local safer Neighbourhood Team is up to please contact them direct or join via www.communitysafe.gov.uk.

Firstly a welcome to you if you have recently subscribed to Community safe.

Over 150 new members joined during the weekend as Merton Park Safer Neighbourhoods Team carried out Street Surgeries in Quintin Avenue, Richmond Avenue, Chatsworth Avenue & Sandringham Avenue as well as Cleveland Avenue, Manor Road, Watery Lane and parts of Kenley Road.
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Our priorities at the moment include Burglary

During 2008 a total of 135 burglaries occurred in Merton Park.
In 2009 this figure was reduced to 109

The figures, from The Metropolitan Police Performance Bureau show a reduction of 26 offences, or 19 % during the year.

Thank You to all Merton Park residents who make the life of burglars as hard as it can be by ALWAYS closing and locking doors and windows on leaving the house

Please also remember to secure and lock sheds and porches too.

Once again Thank You. Lets keep on pushing the figures DOWN

If you have any queries or comments you wish to add, please do so to our email address of MertonPark.SNT@met.police.uk Thank You

In an effort to combat vehicle crime, Merton Borough Police in conjunction with Safer Merton are launching a ‘Drive Out Vehicle Crime’ initiative which will include a number of partnership interventions throughout the year, the first of which is to provide a property marking service for those living within the Borough that may well have received property such as sat navs that may well be used and left in vehicles.

Inspector Jim COOK from Merton Police said, “Vehicle crime is the one of the highest crime types in the Borough and a number of Safer Neighbourhood Teams have had vehicle crime reduction chosen by their ward Panels to work on. We will be looking to raise the public’s awareness and offering advice on how they can help us reduce the incidence of vehicle crime. Over the coming weeks and months Merton Police will be carrying out a number of proactive operations against those involved in vehicle crime. Already the Safer Neighbourhood Teams conduct a large number of Automatic Number Plate Operations and will continue these with both uniform and plain clothes patrols in areas where vehicle crime is most prevalent. I would urge those living in Merton to contact their local Safer Neighbourhood Team and sign up to Community Safe to receive up to date news of what their local Safer Neighbourhood Team is up to. This is a free system and by joining it you can find out about crime alerts and what the Police are doing in your local area. You can join by either logging onto WWW.Communitysafe.gov.uk or by contacting your local Safer Neighbourhood Team direct”.

We take this opportunity to remind you all to:

Ensure cars are locked – this might seem simple but a high percentage of cars are left unlocked in Merton.

Don’t leave anything on view – you may know your jacket is empty but an opportunist thief doesn’t.

Take your sat nav out of your vehicle and clean the suction mark off the windscreen – thieves will smash your window just to check the glove box.

For any further information please contact your local Safer Neighbourhood Team via the main Met Police website by telephone or by e-mail. If you wish to become a member of Community safe and sign up to free crime alerts and news of what your local safer Neighbourhood Team is up to please contact them direct or join via www.communitysafe.gov.uk.

As ever, if you have ANY concerns, please contact us via 0208 721 2451, or via email to Mertonpark.SNT@met.police.uk

Thank You, Merton Park Safer Neighbourhoods Team.

Ps Ian Harman,
Pc Neil Wilkins
Pc Dan Hayward
Pcso Ricardo Smith
Pcso Will Dauncey
Pcso Annabel Rayner