The following update was received from T.C/Inspector Hannah Wheeler of Richmond Borough’s Safer Neighbourhoods & Partnership and provides a comprehensive update on crime in the area. Whilst we have one of the lowest burglary rates in London, it’s good to be aware and take care.  

For further information on Neighbourhood Watch and joining a scheme, please click here

Crime

We are still experiencing burglary across the borough but the methods are different. There is currently a burglary series whereby multi-occupancy buildings are being targeted – the communal doors (often poor quality locks and security and no cctv) are being forced or kicked in or suspects are simply being let in and then entry is forced to flats within. Please be vigilant and if you are in a communal block or a flat your security needs to be as top quality as it can be so ensure your Landlord or leaseholder is on the case.

We have recently arrested a male for a series of walk-in burglary /thefts – folk leaving front doors open even for the briefest of time allows him to walk in and take small items away such as jewellery, phones etc. – he is not local to the area.

We currently have several burglaries committed by the 2 same males in Twickenham and Richmond – both black wearing high visibility jackets so they appear to be workmen and are not challenged as people believe they are lawfully on the premises – one is black, approx. 5’9″ and approx. 40 years old, chubby wearing dark blue trousers, high visibility jacket and back work boots, the other is black, athletic approx. 6ft and approx. 30 years old, blue trousers and black work boots & high visibility jacket. The high visibility jackets have been described as orange and green. One has been identified through CCTV and is from the other side of London – criminals are travelling some distance to commit crime here which makes it harder for us to identify them as they are not our ‘usual suspects’ or known. We have a very robust management in place for our known criminals and they get daily visits and some are tagged.

Please be very aware an do not assume that because they are wearing high visibility jackets that they are legitimate and, as always, if ever in doubt ring 999 – if they are genuine they won’t mind being stopped and spoken to by police.

MetTrace

MetTrace is an extension of a year-long, London-based trial that showed that deploying forensic traceable liquids, like SmartWater®, led to an average 45% reduction in burglary, with some areas experiencing reductions as high as 89%.

We are still property marking in Whitton and Mortlake and are hopeful that related street signage will be going up in these areas very soon as well. We have seen a reduction in burglary in these areas which is excellent news.

Remember that although this scheme is free to certain addresses that are in the burglary hotspots (albeit small numbers as we have the lowest number of burglaries in London) anyone that is a member of a Neighbourhood Watch can get a pack for £25 instead of the retail price of £75. This is a great saving and will safeguard your property and ensure it is logged on a central database that will ensure that when your property is recovered it is returned to you, as each mark is uniquely identifiable to your kit and therefore your property. This also comes with stickers for front and rear windows to alert would-be burglars that you are covered.

This interestingly brings me onto a piece of information gleaned from a burglar in custody who stated that he ‘would not burgle a house in a road that was clearly a NHW area as he knew that there would be people looking out and more vigilant’.

Scams

Sadly these continue and become more plausible, particularly for our elderly residents. One elderly male was targeted before Christmas by two males that saw him having trouble parking and assisted and then offered their services to fix his roof – to the tune of thousands of pounds and then returned after he had been away for Christmas to claim they had done more work while he had been away which he also paid for. He is very distressed at the loss of money and the idea of having been taken in – these scammers are very plausible and had Irish accents – please keep an eye out for houses that are having work done in your street; if there are elderly residents there is no harm in checking yourself or ringing us to check whether they are legitimate.

Another scam this week was two Irish males attending an address in Twickenham purporting to be from Trading Standards and informing the resident that they had recovered her details from a scammer and needed £10,000 in order to release a further £20,000 to her. She duly went to the bank to transfer the money and the Bank staff at HSBC were brilliant and called Police and the transaction was stopped. The men were spoken to and realised they had been rumbled and enquiries are on-going.

To download The Little Book of Big Scams, please click here – lots of useful information

Theft from motor vehicles

This is an on-going issue with the theft of valuables, handbags, satnavs and laptops left on car seats, in foot wells – some left overnight, some for just a few minutes. Please remember to take everything out of your car and lock it. I am planning a ‘Day of doors’ whereby my officers will go down a street on their wards and try all car doors – those that are unlocked we will check owner details and be in touch with more warning advice – this is only the same as car thieves do, only they do it a bit more discreetly!

We have certain streets on the Borough that are ‘hot streets’ where the majority of crime takes place – burglary from houses and sheds, theft from motor vehicles and cycles theft. We concentrate our efforts on these streets and this has been paying dividends. However, we do need help in return from residents – a NHW in all these streets which my officers are canvassing hard for coordinators and a commitment to safeguard and protect properties and belongings, so that together we can become the safest Borough in London!

For further information about East Sheen’s Safer Neighbourhoods Team, please click here