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What does this mean to you?
With the move to a small Borough there have been changes to the way
Sutton Police operate. The response teams that provide twenty-four hour
cover for the Borough answering 999 calls now work a variable shift pattern.
This means more officers on duty at peak times, such as Friday and Saturday
evenings up until 2.00 am. There is now a capacity to have a public order
carrier available both nights to cover things like the pubs, clubs and
other areas of anti-social behaviour.
As of 1st April Mr. Broadhurst, the Borough Commander was selected for a senior officers course at the Police College in Bramshill and has moved on to pastures new. Currently the interim Borough Commander is Superintendent John Bainbridge.
On the community side things are continuing to be developed to closer partnership ties with the local authority and other statutory partners (i.e. health, probation services, local business and the community).
Chief Inspector Chinchen is in overall charge looking at the strategic level with myself as his deputy looking at the tactical level. The community teams now have a Sergeant in charge to assist in developing multi-agency approaches to some of the long term problems affecting the area. Sergeant Jay Howells is covering Sutton and Sergeant Malcolm Cooper covers Wallington.
Shortly the Annual Policing Plan will be published as a result of the
consultations carried out by Mr. Broadhurst before he left. These will
be based around reduction targets for priority crimes such as Burglary,
Auto crime, Street crime, Racist crime and tackling Youth Offenders and
disorder. I will provide more details when the policy is published.
Bob Marshall, Sector Inspector
From
Your Sector Chairman
This is my first contribution for 'Watchword' since becoming Sector
Chairman - I am also Area Co-ordinator of Ward 4 - Park Farm Plus. I would
like to extend my heartfelt thanks for all the voluntary work performed
by the Street Co-ordinators in delivering this publication four times a
year. Apart from the delivery aspect, there is an enormous amount of work
involved in its production, from the initial writing of the articles, the
editing, the printing, the transporting, counting-out for each Street and
the enveloping for the final distribution. The main part of this work is
undertaken by Neighbourhood Watch volunteers and I extend my grateful thanks
to you all.
Space dictates that I be brief, so all that remains, is to request that
if any Street Co-ordinator receives the incorrect number of Newsletters
please let the Community Office know on 020 8649 0782 or leave a message
on the Neighbourhood Watch answerphone on 020 8649 0716.
Sector Chairman
North Worcester Park NHW (Ward 1) Thursday 22nd June at 7.30 p.m.
St. Bede's Conference Centre, St. Anthony's Hospital.
South Worcester Park NHW (Ward 2) Tuesday 20th June at 7.00 p.m.
New Library, Windsor Road.
Sutton Common NHW (Ward 3) Monday 26th June at 7.45 p.m.
3rd Cheam Scout Hut, Rear of Dudley Drive, Stonecot Hill.
Park Farm Plus NHW (Ward 4) Thursday 15th June at 7.30 p.m.
St.Oswald's Church, Brocks Drive.
Nonsuch NHW (Ward 5) Next meeting in November
Sutton West NHW (Ward 6) Next meeting in September
South Cheam NHW (Ward 7) Next meeting in November
SBC Triangle NHW (Ward 8) Wednesday 14th June at 7.30 p.m.
Downs Tennis Club, Holland Avenue.
South Sutton NHW (Ward 9) Wednesday 7th June at 7.30p.m.
Sutton Tennis & Squash Club Devonshire Road.
East Sutton NHW Ward 14 Next meeting in September
We look forward to seeing you at one of these Public Meetings,
where we are sure you will experience an enjoyable and interesting evening.
Refreshments are available.
Are you having building work done at the moment? The latest con being used in the borough is to call in the evening purporting to be a representative from your contractor asking for money up front to buy materials. The caller will use the name of your builder if you have a display advertisement outside or in some cases they follow a builder to a job and then call later.
The other scam is to call on houses with completed work and demand you
pay back tax. These con-men come in suits, all are very convincing. Be
very careful to whom you hand over money. If you don't recognise the caller
always ask for identification. If you are suspicious about such callers
to your door dial 999 or 020-8643 1212 and ask for the Sutton Control Room.
PC 542 ZT Doug Cole Community Officer
That's the question asked by the milkman, postman, delivery-men and burglars. It is this last group we are all concerned with. The holidays are approaching or even a short break and that is just the time the burglar enjoys. He takes his holiday when you come back and with money from his ill-gotten gains.
What can we do? Well we need not make it so easy for him by advertising
the fact we are away. Please do not shout a friendly "have
a nice time, see you in a fortnight" to a neighbour four doors away, go
to the neighbour and just quietly say you will keep an eye on the house.
Do you have a caravan parked in the front garden? When it is used it
is not there and sends a message. You could ask a neighbour to park
his car in its place. Leave table lights on timers in the lounge, landing
and bedroom (do not forget to switch the lamp on first). Drawing
the curtains all day is debatable but a friendly neighbour might like to
draw them at night and open them in the morning. The 'Wheelie Bins' is
something new to consider. You really need the help of a neighbour
if you usually keep yours in the back garden. Nothing would be such a giveaway
if the wrong coloured bin was out or it was left in your front garden in
a disowned manner. Try and cut your grass before you go away - long grass
when everybody's is short is a real giveaway.
We took forward to seeing you at one of these Public Meetings where we are sure you will experience or enjoyable and interesting evening Refreshments are available.
There is no right answer, I have tried to give a few ideas and no doubt
you have a few of your own. Just so long as it makes people think and ask
themselves "Is anybody in?"
Cheam Park Farm Plus. Ward 4
The Editor's decision is final.
The prizes for the Young Watcher's Competition are supplied by Allders
and UCI Cinemas. A big 'THANK YOU' to these companies from all associated
with 'Watchword'.
We were promised them some years ago and finally they are here (and
there)! So far I have managed to allocate
just over 400 sites for the new look 'Meerkat' signs throughout the whole
of the Borough, with another 250 to follow. I have attempted to put signs
in locations that surround the Borough although there are still sites that
need to be addressed. The system used to allocate sites has been to start
on the outer edge of the Borough and gradually work towards the centre,
ensuring all routes in and out have signs clearly displayed. We will
not be able to put signs up on every street corner as in the old days.
Please let me know if there are any sites where you think signs should
be placed and I will check the location and make a decision. If you find
a sign vandalised please let me know so that it can be replaced. Address
your letter to me PC 542 ZT Doug Cole, Community Unit, Sutton
Police Station, FREEPOST, 6 Carshalton Road, Sutton SM1 4RF.
.
Finally, a note to Street Co-ordinators - you have not returned your registration form please do so as soon as possible.
Ward I covers the North Worcester Park area and I have been Chairman for seven years, almost from its inception. It is not a particularly large territory but it does have a fairly high density of housing.
The boundaries of Ward I are from North Cheam crossroads down the west side of the London Road as far as Trafalgar Avenue. The northern boundary is Trafalgar Avenue, Conrad Drive and Boscombe Road. The other boundary from the crossroads is the north side of Cheam Common Road and Central Road as far as Green Lane. The boundary runs along Green Lane until it peters out at the school. There is no defined boundary between Green Lane and the end of Boscombe as it is waste ground or allotments.
Within this area there are around 4000 dwellings, of which approximately 3800 are in Neighbourhood Watch. There are 42 roads, and 35 of these are in the Watch with 65 Co-ordinators.
Of the seven roads outside the Watch, one had a Co-ordinator who has not been replaced and the others have not yielded anyone prepared to act as a Co-ordinator.
Our quarterly meetings used to be held in a wooden building which was associated with a medical centre in the grounds of St. Anthony's Hospital in London Road, North CChem. The medical centre soon moved to purpose built premises in Maiden Road and we were then given facilities in the St. Bed's Conference Centre, which had then been recently established. This is also in the precincts of St. Anthony's Hospital.
At one time I received regular feedback of crimes committed in the area,
which I could pass on to the Street Co-ordinator concerned but the introduction
of the Data Protection Act made such information rather sparse, although
some was available at our quarterly meetings. I, among others, felt that
this lack of feedback was detrimental to Neighbourhood Watch but the situation
has been more than retrieved by the introduction of the Ringmaster system;
not only does it provide up-to-date information, it is also sent to the
Street Co-ordinator concerned, which makes my job considerably easier.
Alan - Chairman, Ward 1
The Watch comprises 28 roads with a Co-ordinator for each, plus 7 deputies. 'Watchword' is delivered to 2,054 households.
After trying several venues for public meetings we hope we have finally settled at the new Library in Windsor Road, where the staff have made us very welcome in the upstairs meeting room. The next meeting is 7.00 pm on Tuesday 20th June and our committee hope to see more new faces there.
We currently need new Co-ordinators for Windsor Road, Huntingdon Gardens,
and Willowhayne Gardens/Leicester Close. We are also looking for a new
Chairman. I have held the post for several years and feel it is time for
a 'new broom'.
Christopher Chairman, Ward 2.
One idea is the lack of alternative entertainment.
We all know that the majority of the under 18s of you out there, would
like to go to the pub of an evening but you are under age for most of the
licensed premises in Sutton and you simply have to live with that. 'Your
time will come', as the older generation probably regularly tells you -
believe me, I have experienced it! It isn't as if you don't get your chance;
many of you take advantage of the 'Under 18s Nights' held during the school
holidays at a certain club near the top of Sutton High Street.
I would personally like to congratulate Sutton's pubs for clamping down on under age entry - it stops people spoiling an evening for those who are permitted.
Similarly, some youths have made it their aim to spoil fun for the young children by getting drunk, sitting in the park, and damaging their playground. Why? What satisfaction is there in that? Your time for playing on the swings and slides has been and gone - get over it! More importantly, where is this alcohol coming from? The supplier has to take their share of the blame too!!!
I do feel sorry for you because most entertainment costs, and costs
a lot, but sociable fun can cost less than that of alcohol (as you will
soon find out when half a pay-packet goes on a Saturday night out). So
don't socialize in a manner which results in anti-social behaviour to the
rest of Sutton's population. Remember, anti-social behaviour is now an
offence!!
Kristen (aged 19)