It is always good to meet Andy as he is more open to discussion of policing matters in Ealing.
Myself and two fellow Liberal Democrat councillors, Nigel Bakhai and Jon Ball, met with him so he can update us on policing matters in Ealing and also those of a London-wide nature. We also asked him some questions as well. The main points to note are:
1/ Crime is lower than expected in Ealing although there are spikes in certain geographic areas.
2/ Snatch victims commonly have iPhones taken so watch out when you leave the tube or rail station. Someone might be watching you, ready to grab your phone.
3/ About 250 people in Ealing have been arrested and of those about 170 have been charged / convicted of crimes relating to the riot.
4/ There continues to be a good career path from bring a Special Constable or a PCSO, into a Police Constable. Clearly being a Special or a PCSO means you have a lot of the training you need for being a PC. I wish people would stop having a go at PCSOs as many do an absolutely great job.
5/ The new Met Police Commissioner Bernard Hogan-Howe seems to have a good plan of action from what I hear. He is doing what the police should be doing - disrupting crime - there is a large cross over between criminals of many types of more serious crimes who also commit car related crimes (e.g. no insurance). So he has run a number of operations across London to catch them by using technology such as AMPR. Also he is now looking to crack down on the stealing of metals such as copper and lead which can make a lot of money for criminals given the increase in price when selling it to scrap merchants (some who are less fussy as to who they buy metal from).
6/ We asked about the possibility of cracking down on some pubs or off licences who in Hanwell appear to be leading to some anti-social behaviour.
Overall a very useful meeting.
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