Drugs, Crime, Burglary and Youth Engagement
Brentford SNT tells us what they've been doing
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Ward Priorities
Our current priorities were set by the Neighbourhood Panel on 28th September and are listed below. I have included a brief overview of what we have been doing to tackle them
1. Drug Dealing and use
This mainly affects the Haverfield Estate and Brentford Towers (Green Dragon) but we are constantly vigilant in other areas. We have been working closely with external partners and agencies such as Hounslow Homes, Neighbourhood Wardens and Hounslow council in identifying offenders and addresses and taking appropriate partnership action.
In early October we received information from residents regarding drug activity and this directly led to the arrest of three males for supplying class A drugs from a garden on the Haverfield Estate. Thirty eight wraps of crack cocaine were seized along with a quantity of money. All three males are currently on bail.
At the end of October we assisted Hounslow Homes in securing a property in Ealing Road that was being used by local criminals and drug users and was causing local residents a lot of concern.
In early November we took part in the Borough wide 'Not in my neighbourhood' initiative. Our activity consisted of the Tasha Foundation drugs bus in Netley Road between 1200 - 1600 giving advice to the local community on drugs and alcohol abuse and dependency.
2. Motor Vehicle Crime
In recent months we have suffered an usually high number of theft from motor vehicles. These have concentrated around the hotel car parks on the High Street, Watermans Car Park and the car parks around the Brentford Towers tower blocks.
We have conducted regular uniform and plain clothed patrols and deployed covert CCTV cameras in certain areas.
We have worked with Hounslow Homes and placed crime awareness signs in residential blocks.
We have also put leaflets on cars parked in the affected areas asking drivers not to leave valuables on display.
We arrested a youth in October in Walnut Tree Road after he was searched and found in possession of items to be used to break into cars.
In the first two weeks of November we have seen a considerable drop in the number of reported offences.
3. Burglary
Brentford ward does not suffer from a high number of burglaries. Since the beginning of October we have had 5 reported offences, which when compared to other areas in the Borough is very low. In any case it is a MPS requirement that every SNT has burglary as a ward priority.
We have delivered leaflets to every household in streets where offences have taken place to ask residents to be vigilant and to take basic home security precautions.
We have fitted locks and security measures to homes of elderly or vulnerable residents
We have visited every victim of burglary to offer support and advice to ensure everything is done to prevent them being targeted again.
In the run up to Christmas we find we have an increase in bogus callers who target the elderly with a view to stealing from their homes. If you have elderly neighbours or relatives who live alone please take time to visit them and remind them not to allow uninvited visitors into their home for whatever reason, to use the security chain when answering their door, and to call the police on 999 if they have any concerns at all.
If you know of any over 60s or other vulnerable resident who would benefit from having FREE security measures fitted to their home then please contact the Safer Neighbourhood Team.
4. Youth Engagement
Brentford SNT spend a lot of time dealing with young people who commit crime and engage in anti social behaviour.
To try and divert young people away from these activities Brentford SNT, in partnership with Brentford FC Positive Futures , will be starting a Duke of Edinburgh Award programme in January 2010. This will be based at Mission Hall and targeted at young people aged between 14-20. Further information and publicity will be published in due course.
If you have any comments about our priorities or ideas on how you feel we could combat them then please feel free to contact me.
Halloween / Bonfire Night
Brentford SNT had a daily uniformed presence across the ward from October 31st to Sunday 8th November between 2pm - 2am. We carried out many stops and searches and responded to calls from residents. I am pleased to say however that we did not have any real problems of note with regards to ASB or crime.
Counterfeit £20 notes
In recent weeks we have received a lot of reports of counterfeit £20s being presented at various places across Brentford. We are investigating these matters. A local person has been arrested and is currently on bail pending further enquiries. We do suspect however that there are other people involved and that there may be further counterfeit notes being used. If you are presented a £20 note for payment please take time to check it is genuine. We have found that a number of the counterfeit notes being used have a serial number that starts with the letter A and ends with the numbers 102.
Neighbourhood Panel AGM
The Neighbourhood Panel (formerly known as the Steering Group) will be holding its AGM on Monday 14th December at 7pm. The venue is yet to be decided. If you would like to attend the AGM then please contact me.
We are constantly on the look out for new panel members. If you live or work in Brentford and would like to be part of the Neighbourhood Panel then please contact me for further information.
If you have information about drugs, motor vehicle crime, burglary , counterfeit notes or any other criminal matter then please contact us.
If you feel unable to talk directly to the police you can give the information anonymously via the Crime stoppers charity on 0800555111
November 16, 2009