Related Links
	Calm urged over child abduction fears Mini cab driver in road rage attack New crime stats show fall in local crime New Chiswick Sector Inspector makes his introductions Get notified of local crime through Ringmaster The Police in Chiswick
	Participate
	Sign up for our free weekly newsletter

Welcome to the newsletter of your local police, produced in conjunction with the Chiswick Town Centre Stakeholders Group. This newsletter seeks to keep you informed of recent events affecting life and business in Chiswick and highlights what can be achieved by working in partnership with your local police.

David Osborne, Chiswick Sector Inspector

Town Centre Crime Trends
Recently published crime figures have presented a generally positive picture on crime in the area, however there are still areas for concern. Riverside ward has suffered from an increase in residential burglary over recent weeks and borough resources will be concentrating on this area. The town centre continues to suffer from ‘street crime’ and in the run up to Christmas, this will be an ongoing issue. Increased policing in the form of a ‘Christmas Crime Crackdown’ will focus on this problem over the forthcoming weeks.

It should be noted, that as a Borough, Hounslow is currently the 3rd best performing in the Met in relation to Burglary, with a clear up rate of 27% and a reduction of 4% on last year. In real terms that means 47 less victims of burglary compared to this time last year. To find out crime figures for your postcode area, visit: www.met.police.uk/crimefigures

Turnham Green currently has the highest rate of thefts of pedal cycles of any ward in the borough. In order to respond to this we are currently planning some high profile operations and will also be encouraging people to register cycles and other property on the ‘Immobilise’ web site (www.immobilise.com). This is the largest site of it’s type and contacts 900 people a month about lost or stolen items. At this time of year, with new cycles on many Christmas lists a lot of you will be shopping for new bicycles. We would urge you to invest in a good quality lock and chain. Most cycles stolen in Chiswick are locked, but with poor quality chains, which can be cut off by a persistent thief. Purchasing a quality lock and chain may prevent theft of a new bike. The ‘Sold Secure’ website provides an independent rating of various types of security equipment including cycle locks (www.soldsecure.com).

Thefts of, and from unattended bags and other ‘dippings’ are another problem in and around busy shops and cafes; Chiswick is certainly no exception with 24 offences reported in just over three weeks recently. I will shortly be contacting local cafes and bars to offer the latest practical crime prevention solutions. Watch this space to find out the safest places to take that well-earned break in the High Road.

Graffiti
In the last newsletter, there was an appeal regarding sightings of the graffiti tag ‘Pyro’; something in the region of 30 offences were subsequently identified and as part of his punishment the youth concerned was required to clean up his own graffiti.

The campaign against graffiti continues this month with a joint initiative involving the local authority, Metronet and Chiswick Police. The Graffiti clean up day will take place on Saturday 10th December and any volunteers are welcome to attend Chiswick Common Road at 10am, all that is required is a pair of boots, all other equipment will be provided.

Volunteers
The Met Volunteer Programme (MVP) was established in 2001 with the primary aim of getting local communities more closely involved with their policing, and so improving the service we can offer. It is now active in Hounslow. Not only does the scheme give you the chance to make a valuable contribution to the safety and security of your community, it also provides the MPS with additional skills, knowledge and resources, allowing Police Officers to spend more time doing what they do best - patrolling the streets.
The MVP attracts volunteers from all backgrounds, taking on a variety of different roles including Front Counter Assistants, office assistants, helping in specialist units, to name a few. If you have a few hours to devote to helping your community each week, the MVP may be just the opportunity for you. Interested? Then please call Jo Cobb – Volunteer Co-ordinator on 020-8247-6472 or by e-mail Jo.cobb@met.police.uk.

Town Centre Stakeholders Group
The Chiswick Town Centre Stakeholders Group meets bi-monthly to discuss matters relating to policing and crime and related issues. It is an active group which seeks to improve life for Town Centre residents, businesses and shoppers. We welcome new members. Next meeting is at Woolworths on 18th January at 10am. Contact david.osborne@met.police.uk for more details.