Vehicle Crime (in East Dulwich)

[spoiltboy]

I posted this as a separate thread before I saw this - we had the passenger window of our car smashed on Friday night (26th Feb) on Goodrich Road, between 7pm and 9pm - seems likely that it was an attempted break-in, judging by the escalation of vehicle crime in the area. We did report it to the police and have a crime number but no follow-up as yet.

[snowman]

Petrol gone again last night from my scooter!! Second time in 3 weeks, I am going out to buy a shotgun.

Have reported to the Police and I suppose I will get the same result as last time - a quick phone call to check a few details and then an email/letter a couple of days later saying the case has been closed and won't be pursued!

There must be something that can be done - ask the council to install some CCTV?

I was also thinking if there is some garage space available for rent that could be used by say 3 or 4 scooter owners to lock their scooters at night? All the crimes appear to be around the same area, so if a suitable place could be found in one of the surrounding streets it might be easy enough for some of us to share the cost of renting such a place?

[TJ]

I looked for garages, but they are ?140 a month, so not worth it for the extra hassle. I've moved my scooter to my secure work parking and use a car to commute now. A pain in the neck.

I have had the police in touch since I made a formal complaint and they really don't think there is anything resembling a problem. Please all call the following number:

Neil Cook 02087212443

and tell him what you think.

[Horsebox]

snowman Wrote:

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> Petrol gone again last night from my scooter!!

>

> There must be something that can be done - ask the

> council to install some CCTV?

Really?

Southwark council to install CCTV outside your house, focused on your scooter? Not the best use of public funds, is it?

I sympathise with you, really I do, the thefts must be annoying and costly but it's not the council's responsibility to monitor your bike.

You could always pay for and install your own CCTV.

[TJ]

We don't need CCTV on each vehicle - what a daft suggestion! What is being suggested in certain areas / junctions get CCTV.

What we need though is more monitoring of key / repeat problem areas (of which, trust me, there are only a couple) and then old plod can;t keep shrugging their shoulders..

The problem is, plod stop working at 11pm, and start at 6. Guess when the majority (in fact 100%) of the crimes I am aware of took place?

Bingo.

[snowman]

TJ, unfortunately using a car would increase my commute from approx. 30 min to almost 2 hours (with regular traffic) and public transport to around 1h15min. Considering I would also incur in extra costs (far in excess of sharing a garage with other scooter owners), it doesn't make them very appealing solutions!

In the meantime I have been called by Southwark Police and apart from all the usual suggestions they have pretty much admitted that there isn't much that can be done (I am not very happy about this - fine, there are more serious crimes, but when it keeps repeating like this it gets very annoying). As TJ suggests they also said they have not received many reports and therefore do not think there is a problem. Please, please please, if you have been a victim of this type of crime (or any other for what it matters!)report it. It is easy and takes only a few minutes.

[snowman]

That's not what I meant Horsebox - more something in line to TJ's suggestion.

And I agree that my own vehicle is my responsibility, hence the suggestion to rent/share a garage (see...I am ready to pay to ensure the safety of my own vehicle, not expecting someone else to do it for me). But in terms of ensuring generally a 'crime-free' environment I do expect the council/police to take reasonable steps - and a couple of CCTV cameras strategically located around an area where problems have been reported - in my opinion - fall into that category.

[BQC]

Is yr bike on the main road or your driveway Snowman ? I've been done 3 times, and totally sympathise. Thought about staying awake one night to see what happens, but i've got 3 young kids and i'm knackered by 10pm .. and what would i do when/if by some miracle i'd picked the right night they come by .. bang on the window ? They'd probably make a concerted effort to come back the next night. How depressing. :(

[snowman]

Main road unfortunately as I do not have a driveway :-S

[Horsebox]

TJ Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> What we need though is more monitoring of key /

> repeat problem areas (of which, trust me, there

> are only a couple) and then old plod can;t keep

> shrugging their shoulders..

> The problem is, plod stop working at 11pm, and

> start at 6. Guess when the majority (in fact 100%)

> of the crimes I am aware of took place?

> Bingo.

Why should we trust you? What are these key problem issues of which there are only a couple?

And do you really believe the police stop working at 11pm?

[sophiesofa]

ED police station closes for the night but peckham or a neighbouring police force must cover ED when ED station is closed. I thought (I have no stats, just thoughts!) that criminals often escalate so they may begin with small petrol thefts but eventually will turn into something worse so it's best to try and nip it in the bud early on.

[TJ]

http://www.met.police.uk/saferneighbourhoods

Please look on here to find you local team.

Please also continue to report on the main Southwark police page.

[Horsebox]

Are you going to answer my questions, TJ?

I'm really interested in your claims.

[helena handbasket]

Horsebox Wrote:

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> Are you going to answer my questions, TJ?

>

> I'm really interested in your claims.

Clearly there are some theft issues around the neighborhood and it's in everybody's interest to better understand patterns and frequency. I don't see anyone else doing it, so........ can we maybe give TJ a break and show a bit of grace?

I think it's fantastic that someone is showing this kind of initiative, thanks TJ.

[Horsebox]

helena handbasket Wrote:

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> Clearly there are some theft issues around the

> neighborhood and it's in everybody's interest to

> better understand patterns and frequency.

Agreed, it's in everybody's interest to know these things, therefore I'm just interested to know why we should 'trust' TJ's claim. Share the knowledge.

And the claim that 'plod stop working between 11pm and 6am' etc reads like a Daily Mail headline and needed questioning, frankly.

[James Barber]

The ward based Police Safer Neighbourhood Teams are not 24/7. They work shifts to be around Policing proactively. They try and find patterns and change things to reduce crime.

So these team don't often work beyond 11pm.

The fast reaction type Police or 999 Police are around 24/7.

Yesterday I was reading licensing report that ncluded a full Police report on their fast responses. For East Dulwich 84 fast responses in last 6 months. This is the loewest number for any part of Southwark. If anyone's interested I'll dig out the link.

[TJ]

Dear Horsebox,

Please PM me with your personal details including your email address and i will share some more details with you. Believe me, the time and effort I have put into this is something I could rather do without.

The people on this site have contacted me anonymously and i have a responsibility to maintain their privacy & trust.

Alternatively, please call Neil Cook, who is the sergeant of the Peckham Rye Safer neighbourhood team who I have met with, I have shared all my info and can confirm all the problems and that they are investigating further.

You have seen James Barber has explained that the police (I flippantly call Plod which is unfair - and as my Grandfather was a chief of police, something I should know better than) in local teams usually stop at 11pm.

Looking forward to hearing from you.

TJ

[emmaailes]

-

[TJ]

Dear All - Southwark News will be running a piece on this thread - for which I will do all I can to support. The team there (Emma & Olly) would like to hear from other people to confirm the theft and in many cases repeat nature of the thefts. They will contact you through this forum as i do not want to give out anyones details or info.

Southwark News have discussed this with the police too.

PLease can you support Emma who may be in touch with any info you have or any questions so we can raise the profile of this issue.

Thanks

TJ

[TJ]

:-$

[BQC]

I've emailed her. Did she say when this was going to print this article, TJ ? Good work btw ..

[idm]

It is interesting to hear of the spate of petrol thefts in the area, Car crime seems to be noticably increasing in the east dulwich area in the past few years,

My car had one of its rear wheels stolen overnight sat/sun just off of Forest Hill Road SE22, its not a flashy car but a run of the mill 8 year old ford, the interesting thing is having spoken to my neighbours have had break-ins and vandalism to their cars and everyone seems to have either have been a victim of crime or knows of someone who has been a victim. Whilst the statistics show a proportion of the crime, there is an amount that is not reported which will not help any arguement for extra patrols, CCTV installations or further investigations by the police. It is important that every crime is reported.

[TJ]

Article due this Thursday in the Southwark News with the hope this will become a story they return to regularly with updates.

Police report / investigation due next week.

Please please keep reporting any thefts

The local neighbourhood team have a monthly meeting and I will be pushing for them to focus on this issue over the next 6 months.