On Monday night I attended the Southfield Safer Neighbourhood Police Panel meeting which is a chance for residents and the police to discuss current and recent local crimes trends. Myself and fellow ward Councillor Andrew Steed attended.
I updated the meeting with the recent confirmation that Southfield Rec will get lighting for two of the commonly used pathways. The lighting will be scheduled to be on for a few hours in the morning and a few in the evening so that people can get to and from work more safely.
It was announced that during the Olympics the ward would still be patrolled as the Met officers ware working more overtime shifts to ensure they cover their own local shifts while some officers are drafted to help out in central London.
Of the recent crimes the local Sergeant said that many of them could have been easily avoided - by taking belongings out of your cars, making sure you keep your doors and windows shut when you leave the house. Also when you leave the tube or rail stations do not be tempted to get your phone or your iPod out as some criminals wait for this then pounce. They will have the surprise element. Be aware.
A couple of local crimes were discussed. One relates to drug issues on a road coming from Acton Vale. Later the issue of a brothel near to Southfield Road was mentioned. If you know anything about this topic then you should report it as the police have a new system for prioritising calls.
The system is called "Grip and Pace" and it works by giving points for calls about a a particular person or a crime. When a number of people report the same person in relation to a crime or that a crime is happening then the crime is prioritised higher than it currently does. Often many people do not report crimes due to the fact that they assume someone else has done so. This system gives more attention to crimes reported by more people. Although the system is new it sounds as if it might help the police to give more attention to the crimes that residents often see. My advice is to report anything dodgy you see and give as good a description of criminals as you can as this will help give the police more intelligence to solve crimes.
Lastly there was some good news about a change of local policing structures. What it means quite simply is that in the near future each section of Ealing (e.g. Acton including Chiswick) will have a dedicated set of detectives who work with the local police team to help investigate those local crimes. This appears to be a positive step from the Met. Hopefully it will mean that the many sections of the local police teams will speak to each other and be more proactive in preventing and solving crimes.
If you want to know more information about the local police team and how to contact them please email me. My email address is: gary.malcolm@ealing.gov.uk
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