Chiswick Crime Increases As 999 Response Target Missed

Closure of station and police reorganisation blamed for further rise in robberies

The amount of serious crime in Chiswick is continuing to increase according to a report due to be presented to the local area forum by police this week.

At the same time the most recent figures have shown that Hounslow Police are failing to meet their target for responding to the most serious 999 calls.

The ward forum update shows that instances of burglary and robbery have gone up in Chiswick in a three month period according to the latest figures for the area.

Image: Met Police

In Chiswick Homefields ward, the number of robberies increased by over 100 per cent for the period June-August 2018, compared to the previous three months. The figures show there were 46 burglaries and 22 robberies for that period, compared to 28, and 9 for the previous three months.

Chiswick Riverside ward also showed an increase in burglary although Turnham Green, which includes the Chiswick High Road area, has seen a decline. You can see the figures, which will be presented by the local police to the Chiswick Area Forum this Tuesday (13 November), in the boxes below.

The latest figures for response times show that in Hounslow Borough the target for responding to the most serious emergency calls is being missed. 999 calls needing “immediate” emergency assistance, such as when there is danger to life or immediate threat of life should be answered in an average of 15 minutes but in Hounslow Borough the average was marginally above that.

Across London the answering of 999 calls between 9pm and 6am has become slower. In July the average time to merely answer a 999 call was 41.6 seconds. In contrast in January the average time taken for a 999 call to be answered during the night was 30.8 seconds

Some are blaming slower response times on the recent reorganisation of the Met into Basic Command Units. London Lib Dem Assembly Member Caroline Pidgeon said, “The severe delays in 999 calls being answered during the night is a very serious concern which the Mayor needs to urgently address.

“Most importantly having rushed through the creation of Basic Command Units the Mayor also needs to provide an account for why they often coincide with a deterioration in response times to 999 calls in many boroughs.”

It is widely believed in the Chiswick area that response times have slowed more here than elsewhere in the borough since the closure of Chiswick Police station with response units having to come from the Hounslow police station.

In the Chiswick area moped crime is still in evidence - one local resident reported that cars were attacked in the Watermans Theatre car park (including his own vehicle) last weekend.

Another resident near British Grove told us that eight cars parked on the street had their mirrors vandalised recently, at a time when there were two street lights reported to be out of action.

Burglary, June/July/August 2018

Robberies

Theft from motor vehicle continues to be an issue across all the wards, however Chiswick Homefields and Turnham Green have seen a reduction in this type of offence while Riverside has seen a slight increase. Local officers say they have been consistent in their high visibility patrols during peak times, sending out key crime prevention messages and engaging with local partners.

Anti-social Behaviour (ASB) across the borough of Hounslow has also seen an increase in the last 3 months. This is likely to be due to the seasonal increase of ASB that is normally seen over these summer months and overall over the last 12 months ASB has reduced. Drug offences are reducing in many wards. Officers have targeted addresses with warrants, as well as CID crime squad working on larger scale offending in organised crime.

Violence with Injury and Knife crime remain a top priority across the borough and is also a priority for the Metropolitan Police across London. Hounslow has seen a rise in violence, but not to the same extent as other parts of London.

Hounslow Council has said it supports the Mayor’s new Violence Reduction Unit leading an urgent review of homicide and serious violence cases. The move by the Mayor comes amid a rise in knife crime across the city. The Mayor has come under increasing pressure from candidates in the forthcoming Mayoral election who have criticised his record on knife and serious crime.

The review will help to determine where to focus attention in order to deliver early, local interventions to help reduce the spread of violence across the city.

Cllr Katherine Dunne, Cabinet Member for Communities and Workforce said, “We welcome this initiative of the Mayor’s towards getting to the root cause of the spiralling of violent crime across the Capital. Early intervention, education and prevention of crime is far preferable than trying to deal with the consequences. We look forward to the restoration of safety on our streets and an end to the violence that has blighted the lives of so many.”

The area crime report will be discussed at the Chiswick Area Forum at Chiswick Town Hall on 13 November.

November 11, 2018