What started as a police street meeting in response to specific issues raised by residents of Gloucester Road morphed into something closer to a liaison meeting with some 25+ residents attending including a good number from Whensleydale. The following are my notes from that meeting.

Police attendance was from Michael Somers and Marek Regan “Maz”. Mike has been in the force 15 years and worked the Hampton area for 4. Maz has covered Hampton for near 10 years.

Resources

Initial discussion was on resources. Some years ago they ran a 1 2 3 policy of one Sergeant, two Constables and 3 PCSOs. That is now down to ¼ Sergeant, 1 Constable (Mike) and ½ PCSO (Maz).

3 live police stations in the borough are down to 1 though there is a small community office in Hampton North at Hampton Square.

The command is now merged into 4 super boroughs which include Kingston meaning there is scope for resources to be pulled to Kingston when there are major incidents.

Profile & Data

There are typically hot spots of burglary and on many occasions that were discussed there are known individuals or groups who commit certain offences. In the past 6 months (to end June)  Gloucester has seen 1 burglary, 3 attempted burglaries and 2 vehicle thefts. Wensleydale has seen 4 burglaries & 1 attempted burglary.

The car thefts have been key-less meaning only the signal from the key was needed, no house entry, no keys stolen. Just acquire the signal and drive off with the car. See prevention for key pouches.

Figure 1 - Hampton Residential Burglary May 2019

It is clear from the polices own data that there is something of a hot spot locally in the Gloucester Rd area but that the number remain low by London wide measures.

Last year there was a spate of house entry via the breaking of glass in front doors that had only their yale locks on (no deadlock). An individual was convicted after trying to sell stolen items which were traced to Hollybush Lane. With the arrest these incidents stopped. Would you believe the individual was from Kent!

There have similarly been shed break-ins with bikes stolen, 5 in the recent past. The police are aware of what they call “our local bike thief”. He was described 5 foot 6 inch, small build, black hair sometimes with a black beard. He is around 30 years old. It was confirmed that he is banned from cycling in the London area and residents should report seeing him on a bike if they do.

Overall police believe crime in Hampton to be down 30% year on year.

Incidents & Response

A discussion was held about how to respond to given incidents. The police advise that if suspects are seen on a drive trying to gain entry to houses or cars this is a 999 call and is known as “suspect on”. There is a 12 min max response time.

Patrols were discussed. The resourcing mean the maximum Hampton can expect patrols is 1/3 of the time though the police assured that they patrol the roads in question whenever on shift. This can be 4 times on nights. Patrolling has decreased in the last two years.

Drug dealing in the village was discussed. A search warrant was executed (supported by village CCTV) and the police believe this helped move some problem individuals from the area.

Residents expressed a feeling that criminals had “free range” in Hampton. The police assured this was not the case and that reports are actioned. There was a longer discussion about why in a specific case in Gloucester police did not respond to an alleged attempted break-in & harassment. It seems possible the decision was made by dispatch based on priority of other events.

A discussion on 101 with many stating frustration at responses. Police advised that situations where suspects are on residents property and causing concern should be a 999 call. They state this as “suspect on” and will respond with a target of under 12 mins.

Council

The council represented at the meeting by Mr Roberts stated that they are budgeting £100,000 for neighbourhood schemes. They are looking to provide ½ FTE for CCTV monitoring and that a mobile CCTV unit is available.

Prevention

Alleyways and passages that give access to the rear of properties are a weak point. The police advised that where possible if residents can club together to share the cost of a gate and lock blocking shared access routes it is of great security benefit.

Trellising on fences, burglar alarms, video doorbells and CCTV all help. Dangerous additions such as razer wire should be avoided.

Cars should have steering wheel locks & it was recommended that anyone with a key-less system should buy a Faraday Bag for £5 - £10 (https://tinyurl.com/y6qpjud2)

Neighbourhood watch was discussed. There is a group in Gloucester Rd though the police note that in other areas a local WhatsApp group has been highly effective. John Murray is the local police liaison

Further Contact & Thanks

Residents are encouraged to report information that may be of use to the police such as suspicious activity to the Met Police or Crime Stoppers (crimestoppers-uk.org).

 

Jon Slinn – Hampton Conservatives

jon@slinn.org : www.slinn.org : twitter.com/@jonslinn