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On 08/07/2025 at 17:16, Rockets said:

A PCSO knocking on people's doors giving residents leaflets about how to combat crime in the area......they said that the road closures had lead to increases in crime - for example there is a real problem with moped scams at the moment where mopeds deliberately drive into cars to make insurance claims

Some good news posted by ianr on another thread, regarding 'crash for cash' scams. Surprisingly, the police statement makes no mention of 'road closures' (a traffic filter) in Dulwich https://www.cityoflondon.police.uk/news/city-of-london/news/2025/july/ifed-executes-five-warrants-across-east-and-south-london-in-major-crash-for-cash-investigation/

@Earl Aelfheah ha ha.

You're just bitter that PCSOs are telling people that the LTNs have increased crime in the area. Are you suggesting that what the PCSOs are telling people is wrong or a lie just to annoy folks like you?

Speak to anyone who lives in the area and they will tell you certain types of crime are increasing - about phone snatches, knife-point robberies, moped crash-for-cash scams, masked criminals on electric bikes terrorising people in Dulwich Park, cars full of masked criminals breaking into work vans, cars with false plates being used in robberies and the police are giving advice to residents on how to report and, hopefully, manage the problems.

This is why the PCSOs were door-knocking and that's when they said what they said. You can deny it all you want but posting things like your previous mischievous post with your barbed and ludicrous comment in relation to a note from the City of London police is only going to re-highlight the fact but well done for bringing to the top of the message board again so people are aware!

I’d be genuinely interested to know exactly when and where these PCSOs were out knocking on doors to warn Dulwich Village denizens of a crime wave. It sounds like an extraordinary policing tactic. Especially given that the stats for reported crimes for the DV ward (up to May 2025) don’t show any increase but a downward trend.
 

How many homes did they visit? Surely not every street in the ward, so which streets did they concentrate on? Did they distribute a leaflet, if so can we see it? 

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4 hours ago, Rockets said:

Speak to anyone who lives in the area and they will tell you certain types of crime are increasing - about phone snatches, knife-point robberies, moped crash-for-cash scams, masked criminals on electric bikes terrorising people in Dulwich Park, cars full of masked criminals breaking into work vans, cars with false plates being used in robberies

 ...all of these linked to a road filter on Calton Avenue introduced 5 years ago? Wow. That's almost unbelievable.

Edited by Earl Aelfheah
  • Agree 1
4 hours ago, Insuflo said:

I’d be genuinely interested to know exactly when and where these PCSOs were out knocking on doors to warn Dulwich Village denizens of a crime wave.

It was a few weeks ago and they were handing out flyers about things you can do to prevent thefts - buying crook locks etc. Two of them - a male and a female PCSO - working the roads. They were doing the roads around Dovercourt, Woodwarde, Druce etc - the areas that the problems are particularly pronounced.

2 hours ago, Earl Aelfheah said:

That's almost unbelievable.

You know what they say about denial @Earl Aelfheah. I can assure you it very much happened, you might not believe it but it did. How do I know, because they knocked on our door and I spoke to them.......what makes you so sceptical or is it just in your nature when you hear something you really don't want to believe?

5 hours ago, HeadNun said:

Hi Rockets, I'm not challenging this and have no particular views on LTNs either way, but I'm genuinely interested to know how they are increasing crime. 

The PCSOs did not elaborate but I think the issue is that the types of crime that are increasing rely on people not witnessing it or intervening and the criminals like nothing more than quiet roads to do that. The moped scam is a classic example - if someone actually sees what happened they can't distract - in fact, people locally are discussing that going to aid the victim usually encourages the criminals to leave the scene. They target lone cars so no-one witnesses it.

Phone thefts are the same - they like to approach people on quiet roads and don't want anyone to interfere with their escape or to warn the victim.

LTNs do create much quieter streets - that is one of their advantages  but there may well be a downside to that as well. When I looked at the crime figures some time ago (and posted them on here) the types of crime were changing with the aforementioned categories growing.

Bottom-line is that the people who live in the area are becoming increasingly aware of the issue and the police (and PCSOs) are going to alert people. Just walk down any of those roads and see how many people have crook locks on their cars.

And this is all being reflected in the Village activity links: https://www.police.uk/pu/your-area/metropolitan-police-service/dulwich-village/?yourlocalpolicingteam=policing-priorities

  • Priority:

    Robbery and Theft - Dealing with robberies and theft snatch throughout the ward, prodominately aimed at school students.

    Issued 01 July 2025

    Action taken:

    Increased high visibility patrols at school run times around the ward. Educating students and residents by handing out crime prevention advice leaflets.

    Actioned 01 July 2025

  • Priority:

    Dealing with crimes related to motor vehicles - including theft of motor vehicle, theft from a motor vehicle and vehicle interference.

    Issued 01 July 2025

    Action taken:

    Patrolling targeted areas, highlighting vulnerable vehicles and offering advice for target hardening. Leaflets and reassurance crime advice. Varying shift patterns to allow patrols later in the evenings and nights.

    Actioned 01 July 2025

  • Priority:

    Our latest community survey highlighted an increased concern regarding Violence against Women and Girls within Dulwich Village, including areas within the ward which are particularly dark and leave members of the community feeling vulnerable.

    Issued 01 July 2025

    Action taken:

    Enhanced high visibility patrols will be completed, working with partner agencies to reduce darker areas of the ward and using data lead policing to reduce crime by bringing offenders to justice.

    Actioned 01 July 2025

 

Edited by Rockets

The priorities for the DV SNT listed are pretty much the same as for all SNTs locally. The crime figures do not back up your hysteria:

https://www.met.police.uk/area/your-area/met/southwark/dulwich-village/about-us/top-reported-crimes-in-this-area 

I’ll take your advice and look into the window of every car in the area to see if they are fitted with the kind anti theft devices that have been in use by every motorist in Britain for the last 50 years. That will definitely prove your contention that Dulwich Village is turning into Grand Theft Auto.

  • Haha 1

Well the numbers in the nearby Goose Green ward have risen sharply recently, Insuflo. https://www.met.police.uk/area/your-area/met/southwark/goose-green/about-us/top-reported-crimes-in-this-area

I wouldn't call it hysteria - plenty of people on this forum have witnessed or been victims of crime. 

Whether it's to do with LTNs, I have no idea and don't really care either way. But there's no doubt criminals are operating in quiet, dark streets, as the report Rockets posted suggests, esp VAGW. 

20 minutes ago, HeadNun said:

Well the numbers in the nearby Goose Green ward have risen sharply recently, Insuflo. 

No they haven’t. The link you posted to the Goose Green figures shows that reported crime has not significantly increased in the last year.

  • Haha 1
4 hours ago, Earl Aelfheah said:

 ...all of these linked to a road filter on Calton Avenue introduced 5 years ago? Wow. That's almost unbelievable.

Some would say incredible.

But then again, it's a bit like Mr Blobby caused global warming. Before Noel Edmonds's second most evil creation appeared on TV, global warming wasn't a problem and no-one ever mentioned it. Now...it's an existential threat to the world. Makes you think.

  • Haha 3
2 hours ago, Rockets said:

It was a few weeks ago and they were handing out flyers about things you can do to prevent thefts

The fire brigade also go around telling you to check your smoke alarms (in fact the "community fire" service provides free checks if you ask), turn off your gas, check your escape routes and so on - that doesn't mean every other house is burning down or that fires have increased, that's called preventative tactics cos it's a lot easier and cheaper for all concerned if the fire doesn't happen in the first place.

Same with crime - most of it is opportunistic so if you're wandering through a park (any park, not just one with an LTN 500m down the road) looking at your phone and with your earphones in, it's really quite simple for a "jogger" or a hoodie on a bike to nip past you and grab the thing. Sensible advice along the lines of "pay attention to what's around you" is part and parcel of normal preventative policing. 

I know how much you love data and rely on it for everything so try looking at the actual crime figures. Dulwich has not suddenly turned into gangland LA because a few dozen square metres of road has been closed to cars.

 

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Recorded crime in the area has slightly fallen (probably not to a degree that is statistically significant). No one doubts however, that the police are warning people about crime prevention measures.

What I personally doubt, is that police are claiming there has been a recent increase in crime caused by a road filter introduced half a decade ago.

As usual, there is no evidence whatsoever provided for that claim. It is also notable that the only person to have heard this from a police officer, is the same individual with a well documented history of making wild, unsubstantiated, and often objectively false claims in relation to the negative impacts of the aforementioned road filter.

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1 hour ago, Earl Aelfheah said:

Recorded crime in the area has slightly fallen (probably not to a degree that is statistically significant). No one doubts however, that the police are warning people about crime prevention measures.

 

It's good to know it's fallen slightly. But it certainly feels like it's increased. I'm sure I see a lot more police cars on blues about and hear more about phone snatching and car theft etc. But maybe it's just because people report it a lot on here and so I'm paying more attention to it than I used to. 

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