Among the top priorities that constituents have shared with me about tackling crime locally has been with regard to burglaries. In particular, burglaries were taking place far too regularly around the Hampstead Garden Suburb area.
Following representations I made the local police set about delivering more action to help prevent future burglaries from taking place. In a letter I addressed to local people in the ‘Suburb I provided helpful information that the Police had suggested a number of preventative measures residents could put in place.
Following requests from many constituents to see more action taken by the Police the Met announced several operations which had resulted in several arrests; in addition the Council are installing additional Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras on main roads in areas where the prevalence of burglaries is high. The ANPR system will cross-check known vehicles with Police records, which means that can be flagged to local police if they pass an ANPR camera as they enter the area. The Police also have access to specialist teams from elsewhere in London.
The Police are happy to provide crime prevention advice (including looking at the option of smart-water)
Current rolling 12 month (R12) figures for Burglaries in Barnet
Burglary in a Dwelling Previous R12 2,696
Burglary in a Dwelling Current R12 2,396
Offences % change - 11.1%
This equates to 300 less burglary victims.
Burglary in Other Buildings Previous R12 1,119
Burglary in Other Buildings Current R12 1,067
Offences % change - 4.6%
This equates to 52 fewer burglary victims.
Summary of tactics deployed to tackle burglaries
- Forensic Smart Water deployments to households to mark property (rubs off on offenders and is traceable)
- Traditional primary and secondary investigations to detect a burglary which include forensic, CCTV and witness trawl
- Robust management of known burglars through intelligence led pro-active policing
- Use of Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras to gather intelligence on known burglars and also during reactive investigations
- High Visibility Policing deployments in hotspot areas to deter offenders
- Plain clothed “undercover” patrols to catch offenders
- Use of a “trap house” containing electrical goods fitted with GPS tracking devices
- Use of social media and local press to give crime prevention advice and appeal for information on wanted offenders
- Crime prevention partnership work with Barnet Local Authority Community Safety Team
More Police Patrolling our Streets
I have had a number of complaints raised about the number of Police Officers who are visible to the public, so I thought it would be useful if constituents were aware of the frequency and number of police on duty.
In Finchley wards the MET have a Dedicated Sergeant, Paul Dodd. Reporting to Paul are six Dedicated Ward Officers (DWOs) and three Dedicated Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs).
In Golders Green wards the MET have a Dedicated Sergeant, Pete Hewitt, who supervises two other Wards, with the Golders Green contingent consisting of two DWOs and one Dedicated PCSO.
The above model is reflected across each of the Barnet Wards.
Patrolling borough-wide, the MET have five Inspectors, 25 Sergeants and 230 PCs on their Response Teams, providing 24/7 coverage.
In addition, there is one Inspector, five Sergeants and 30 PCs in a Neighbourhood Tasking role, to support DWOs in addressing local concerns.
Finally, in addition to our CID investigators, we have a proactive Crime Reduction Unit, who are dedicated to burglary and vehicle crime reduction, with one Sergeant and 15 PCs.