Mini Taskforce To Be Set Up To Deal With Chiswick Street Crime

Extra resources to catch offenders believed to come from outside W4

Local police are to use all available resources to deal with the growth of street crime in Chiswick, the local Area Forum has been told.

Last week Chiswickw4.com reported that the amount of serious crime in Chiswick was continuing to increase, with two wards in particular showing instances of burglary and robbery had gone up in a three month period.

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.

Image: Met Police

Local police told councillors last Tuesday (13 November) that there had also been an increase in street crime, including mobile phones being stolen and shoplifting

They said they believed this was a displacement from the Shepherd's Bush and Hammersmith areas and offenders were travelling to Chiswick to target locals.

A patrol plan was now being put in place where high visibility patrolling of police officers would take place close to Chiswick High Road and particularly the Chiswick Common area. There were would also be an increase in police patrolling in unmarked vehicles.

"We are setting up what will be a mini taskforce to target this problem using all our resources" the police representative told the Forum.

The issue of drug dealing was also brought up by a member of the public, who said Magnolia Road was a particular problem. Police said that members of the community should report all suspicious activity to them. They were working with a Youth offenders team and using Stop and Search, when possible, to deal with it. Knife crime had not proven to be as much a problem in this area as elsewhere.

The report placed before the councillors showed that 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.

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.

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.

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.

A member of the Grove Park Group told the meeting that they had offered a VW Golf car if the police needed to use a vehicle in the area. The police representative said he was not sure if this would be allowed for police use, and they would check out the position.

November 18, 2018