Please see below Inspector Rob Bryan’s police newsletter in full. We hope you find this of interest.
Dear reader,
After last month’s circular, I received a lot of positive feedback about how hard the local police officers and PCSOs are working. Thanks very much for that feedback. I will return to the theme of highlighting all their good work every few months. Today I will just mention PCSO Paul Brighton who covers West Ruislip ward. Because of his hard work and dedication (he is the one you see out on the pushbike all the time) he has won a Hillingdon Police Excellence Award. He will be awarded this by the Borough Commander later in the month. Well done Paul.
Last month I also raised a topic about doing my best to squash rumours that you often hear from a friend of a friend. I offered to look into any grapevine rumours and provide the facts. I received no requests all month. A cynical person might assume that gossip is more interesting than fact! But I will take it to mean there are no wild stories currently circulating that require a correction.
Crime figures:
There have been stories on the news recently about police under recording crimes so I thought you would like to know the facts as I see them.
Violence with injury (GBH, ABH and robbery) have seen a 20%+ increase across London and the UK. This is primarily due to a change in recording standards. In the past, if we were called to a pub fight and it was all quiet on our arrival, no crime was recorded. That was contrary to the National Crime Recording Standards and we have now corrected that error. From what I see, police in Hillingdon are extremely ethical in how crime is recorded. Stats from the London Ambulance Service and hospitals show a reduction in persons they see as a result of violence. Nevertheless we cannot just put this increase in violent crimes down to changes in the way we record crime – those acts of violence have always been there, just not recorded. I can reassure you that this issue has been gripped at the highest level and extra resources are being put into combating violence. The London-wide plan is called Operation Equinox and involves increased late night patrols in town centres, more licensing visits and test purchases and increased proactivity in arresting those who commit acts of violence.
Burglary has also seen an increase in the north of the Borough. At this time of year when the clocks change, opportunist burglars do strike. The spike we are seeing is bigger than previous spikes, but I also want to reassure you that it is not an epidemic. Ironically even with this spike, because of low numbers earlier in the year, Hillingdon may still see a decrease in burglaries compared to last year. Operation Bumblebee runs each year to combat this spike. In the north that includes cocooning (visiting addresses around a burglary to provide crime prevention and seek out leads), additional resources from the Borough Tasking Team and TSG and proactive targeting of suspected offenders. I would ask that you circulate the crime prevention advice below as widely as possible.
Crime Prevention advice:
A third of residential burglaries show no signs of forced entry suggesting either a door or windows were not properly secured. The following tips, if followed by everyone, would make it so much harder for burglars to operate in our area:
Don’t leave your keys within easy reach of doors, letterboxes or windows (the burglar can fish them out with a coat hanger).Close and lock all doors and windows. If you have multi-locking door handles, lift the handle, lock it with the key and remove it. Remember – LIFT – LOCK – REMOVE. Put the key in a safe place out of sight in case of fire
(This should be done when you go to bed too, not just when you go out. Entry via improperly locked doors counts for a high proportion of our break-ins). Lock garages and sheds so garden tools and ladders can’t be used to break into your home and keep side gates locked. Use timer switches linked to lights and a radio so it appears that someone is at home (that extra hour of darkness since the clocks changed makes it very easy to spot which house is empty). Install a visible intruder alarm system
– burglars don’t want to be seen or heard. Keep side and rear boundaries high to restrict access and front boundaries low to remove hiding places. Photograph and mark valuables and sentimental items with your postcode and house number. Register items with serial numbers at:
www.immobilise.comIf you want to be removed from my Distribution List please let me know via the Reply button.
Yours,
Inspector Rob Bryan
North Cluster
Hillingdon Borough
( 020 8246 1816 | ( 07500097182 | 8 robert.bryan@met.pnn.police.uk+ Ruislip Police Station, The Oaks, HA4 7LE
NOT PROTECTIVELY MARKED
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HS2 is currently being debated in parliament. Even though there is strong opposition to it and it has been flagged up as a red/amber risk as to whether it will provide value for money by the parliamentary watchdog, there is a strong feeling that it may still be pushed through.