Crystal Palace Local

Burglary
There has been an increase in burglary throughout the country and unfortunately Croydon and South Norwood have not escaped this increase.   The South Norwood Safer Neighbourhoods Team (SNT) has worked closely with Croydon Police Burlary Squad under 'Operation Nelson' to stem this increase and work towards reducing this devastating crime.  Our local knowledge has led to two recent arrests for burglary.

We are currently putting a great deal of effort into burglary prevention.  We have already visited over seven hundred homeowners who we consider to be vulnerable to provide crime prevention advice.  We have found that uPVC front doors and wooden front doors only secured by  nightlatch (a 'Yale' type lock ) appear attractive to burglars.  Some burglaries through uPVC have occurred at night where the occupiers have been asleep.  Entry has been made by placing a tool , or even a hand in one reported case where the occupier was present,  through the letter box to lift the door handle.

The burglars have been able to open the door in silence because the door has not been properly locked.  In an increasing number of burglaries car keys left close to the front door have been taken in order to steal a the owners' car  (often new or of high value) from the drive or street.

If you have a uPVC front door please ensure that it is properly locked every time you leave your house or flat and at night.
If you have a wooden front door with only one 'Yale' type lock, consider fitting and using a five lever mortice lock.
Keep car keys away from doors and windows and preferably not in hallways.
Lock sheds, outbuildigs and side or rear gates.

There have  been four recent cases where entry was gained to the communal area of a block of flats and the individual flats were broken into.  In one of these cases the communal front door was forced open in the other three the front door was either propped open or a resident let the burglars in.

We would like to hear from anyone who has information on burglary or other crimes or who would like free crime prevention advice.

Robbery
I am pleased that the increase in robbery that we experienced earlier in the year has not been sustained.  Having helped to reduce robbery by arresting seventeen robbers, patrolling vulnerable areas, working closely with school staff and pupils and increasing awareness we hope to continue to keep the crime rate low through thr festive period and the start of the New Year.
There is usually an upward spike in robberies in the New Year when pupils return to school with mobile phones, personal music players and jewellery that they have received as Christmas presents.  We  will be maintaining our patrols around schools and the High Street transport hub during these times but we urge pupils to be vigilant if they have to take these items to school and to take care when or where they use them or have them on display.

Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB)
We have worked with the Upper Norwood SNT to tackle an increase in anti-social behaviour around the shops at the top of South Norwood Hill, Wilkinson Gardens, Auckland Rise and Beaulieu Heights.  One family engaged in ASB has been evicted and action is being taken against three other families.

We have recently secured two convictions against two youths who failed to leave the Upper Norwood Dispersal Zone.  One of these also pleaded guilty to assaulting one of our Community Support Officers.

Throughout the Halloween and Fireworks period we worked  four  weeks of late evening shifts to tackle ASB that is usually associated with this period.  South Norwood was reasonably peaceful with no serious ASB.  The South Norwood SNT was called upon to provide assistance to New Addington on a couple of evenings.

We are working with Croydon Council Housing Officers and ASB Department to deal with an increase in ASB around the Regina Road area.  We have already made one arrest in Regina Road of a youth convicted of robbery who had breached his Anti-Social Behaviour Order (ASBO) and are gathering information with a view to taking action against others engaged in ASB in that area.   

Other news
Last month we attended Croydon Town Hall as guests of the Croydon Borough Neighbourhood Watch to receive the George Hammond Award for being voted the Croydon Safer Neighbourhoods Team of the Year.  We received over four hundred nominations for going, 'above the call of duty' in making a difference in South Norwood.

You may be aware that there has been a review of the supervision of SNTs with the Metropolitan Police losing 150 Sergeants' posts.  In Croydon this  meant a reduction of six Sergeants' posts resulting in twelve wards sharing a supervisor.  I am pleased that, although  consideration was given to merge South Norwood with Upper Norwood for supervision purposes,  this did not happen.  Both Upper Norwood and South Norwood SNTs retain  their respective Sergeants  as before.

There has been some movement of staff between teams.  PC Del Peters has moved to Fairfiled SNT in a straight swap with the officers who were on the Fairfield SNT.  We remain up to strength with police officers but will lose two of our Community Support Officers early in the New Year when one leaves to become a police officer and one leaves to become a Traffic PCSO based in London.  This will leave us with three PCSOs as opposed to six that we had this time last year. 

The Metropolitan Police Drink Drive campaign has begun.  It is surprising how little alcohol a driver has to drink to be over the drink drive limit.  It also takes longer than some drivers think for alcohol to leave the body thus, some drivers who may have made alternative non driving arrangements to get home the night before are still over the limit the following morning.

If using minicabs to get about please remember that, 'If it is not booked it is just a stranger's car'.  More information on booking minicabs can be found on the TfL website  http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/gettingaround/findaride/default.aspx    

As we approach the Festive Season there will be occasions when our staff will be employed in Croydon Town Centre during what is likely to be a busy period.  If you need our assistance over this period we will still be available but please remember that in cases of emergency the '999' system is to be used.  The non-emergency number for police to report crimes or obtain a faster response than we can guarantee is '101'.

The South Norwood SNT wish you a Merry Christmas and a happy and safe New Year.

Cliff Baxter | Sergeant - South Norwood Safer Neighbourhoods Team
MetPhone 31323 Telephone 020 8649 1323
email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Address South Norwood Police Station, 11 Oliver Grove, South Norwood SE25 6ED