Yes I always regarded Belleville as a breeding ground for crack dealers and home invaders.................which I why I send my girls there What a ridiculous thing to say.

"I wouldn't dream of putting my children through the local state school system" Good grief,this is not Mogadishu during the 90s! Honestly,get a grip!

Lived here for 12 years now and I thought the riots of 2011 would be the low point but since then we seemed to have descended in to a state of constant riot.

We now have bouncers and occasionally police outside McDonalds on St Johns Road most week days from 3-6pm to keep the school kids in order. Gangs on boris bikes with bandanas covering their faces roaming around looking for their next mugging victim before they progress on to mopeds and then get a brand new mercedes to deliver their 'food' in the evening.

Yet you never see any police unless some poor member of the public gets run over during a police chase and they have to close off part of Battersea for half a day.

I reported my neighbours alloy wheels getting stolen after I woke up in the night to see some youths running around outside my house and getting up the next morning to see his car on bricks. Though as soon as I mentioned in my description what colour they where I felt under interrogation myself.

I no longer wear my nice watch when walking around as it simply isn't worth the hassle, I haven't bothered changing my car in years as can't be arsed repairing the key marks and smashed wing mirrors and I wouldn't dream of putting my children through the local state school system.

Yet if I was to state why I have come to these conclusions there would probably be more chance of me been investigated by the police than those who stole my neighbours alloy wheels.

Strange and scary times we now live in.

"Londons Police Chief = Not Fit For Purpose!
Now back to the useless Mayor and his unhealthy interest in Donald Trump."
The Police has been super-stretched for years due to cuts...
I don't think our Mayor is useless at all...BoJo on the other hand...
regarding Donald Trump,it is bad enough that somehow he won the election but why would you want to give a man like that a state visit? I presume this is what you are implying with your "unhealthy interest" comment.

It was earlier on this year when it was dark at 9pm. But over the last couple of years there have been a few 'incidents' on Thurleigh.

"Just because officers are not visible on every street corner, it does not mean that they are not there and not working to safeguard the residents of this borough."

Well they might be working but they are certainly not there acting as a deterrent. The primary goal of the police is the prevention not detection of crime. Police levels have dropped to the levels of 1985. Countless studies have shown that it is opportunity not detection that is determining factor as to whether crime is committed.

Think about it logically. We have the most CCTV cameras per capita of any country on Earth yet violent crime rose more than 10% in the figures released last week. So these low level criminals are not scared of being caught after the fact by CCTV. Furthermore, they know in the highly unlikely event of being convicted they will not go to prison because they too, are over crowded and under resourced.

In terms of these street type crimes, the only way to reduce them is for an increase in Police presence on the streets. Yes we can all make ourselves less of 'target' but that only takes you so far. A friend and client of mine was attacked and stabbed on Thurleigh Road walking home from tennis just after 9pm one evening. He's a big guy and definitely not an obvious target but against two guys armed with knives what's he going to do?

To a certain degree the Police have been engaged in a political battle with the last few governments starting with Commissioner Blair tape recording conversations with the Home Secretary. Then you have 'plebgate'. Well those governments have taken their revenge at our expense.

Stoppit: I noticed that as well, stigma, racism, social racism too?
Exclusion starts at primary school, in all sorts of ways.
Parents must help their child face exclusion and form healthier relationships, help them experience positive sides of the community in its wide diversity. In somes case it works out really well and child falls back on their feet, with true friends, happiness, and motivation stems from there.

Some parents do whatever they can but when a child has had enough of exclusion, or when a child's relationships have been over manipulated by the parents, and that they have no real friends, and a string of disappointments, sadly they might give up, becoming vulnerable to destructive gangs which prey on those feelings of exclusions giving the kids the illusion of a more nurturing relationship, a noticeable identity, and popularity.

That's my take on it, not the whole picture, but I bet that some of those who go about snatching phones etc come from that inner feeling that they were not being valued for who they were, by their own parents, or by their friends' parents.

A lot of racism on here! May I just say that most street crime is opportunist. Better parenting would prevent more crime not more police and more personal involvement would help.

I'm looking to register my phone with the 999 text service thanks to previous post as thought it sounds like an excellent idea, but it says it's only for deaf and speech impaired people...?

results of an unfair materialistic community. some young people give up too quickly on their future and would rather be part of a gang (criminal, religious...) than work, struggle on low wages tired of feeling 'invisible'. Sad but true.

NVHusband wrote:I don't agree with Papinian on many issues, but I feel he has highlighted some issues that need to be addressed.

I have just witnessed a group of 15/ 16 year old youths antagonising patrons of All Bar One on Northcote Road. They wanted a fight.

Before the police arrived, the arrogance and bravado of the youth showed zero fear of the consequences of their actions.
The bouncers tried to intervene to little effect.
Why are we held ransom to a group of 15 year olds? Why are they looking for trouble on Northcote Rd of all places? Boredom?

When the police arrived, the youths disappeared. Unfortunately, it left a bad taste in the mouth for all the patrons of restaurants/ bars in the immediate surrounding.

To their credit, the police responded in a reasonable time, but I still feel that youths have zero fear of consequences of their actions. This attitude did not happen by accident but a genuine view that they are above the law or that they know the "process" the police operate under.

How did we get to this stage where youths are roaming the streets provoking law abiding residents? We don't live in the Wild West.

I am afraid the police have lost confidence of the law abiding majority.

How do we reclaim our borough (and high street) from a significant group of individuals who feel they own the street?

I completely agree with everything you said! My question also is ...were are the parents? why kids are out and about in the evening with no supervision? I was not allowed to roam the streets in the evenings at that age,same as my husband and it will be the same for my child.

I don't agree with Papinian on many issues, but I feel he has highlighted some issues that need to be addressed.

I have just witnessed a group of 15/ 16 year old youths antagonising patrons of All Bar One on Northcote Road. They wanted a fight.

Before the police arrived, the arrogance and bravado of the youth showed zero fear of the consequences of their actions.
The bouncers tried to intervene to little effect.
Why are we held ransom to a group of 15 year olds? Why are they looking for trouble on Northcote Rd of all places? Boredom?

When the police arrived, the youths disappeared. Unfortunately, it left a bad taste in the mouth for all the patrons of restaurants/ bars in the immediate surrounding.

To their credit, the police responded in a reasonable time, but I still feel that youths have zero fear of consequences of their actions. This attitude did not happen by accident but a genuine view that they are above the law or that they know the "process" the police operate under.

How did we get to this stage where youths are roaming the streets provoking law abiding residents? We don't live in the Wild West.

I am afraid the police have lost confidence of the law abiding majority.

How do we reclaim our borough (and high street) from a significant group of individuals who feel they own the street?

We have tried to address your concerns where possible or appropriate below:

petal: The Metropolitan Police has re-launched what we call Operation Sceptre, a campaign to raise awareness of and try to prevent knife crime. We have a knife amnesty bin at Lavender Hill Police Station, and are encouraging people to hand in their knives anonymously. Stop and search is encouraged, with sufficient grounds, and on 1st July a Section 60 power of search was enforced on the Patmore Estate in SW8. We use this power to prevent and detect the carrying of dangerous instruments or offensive weapons, and it is intended to prevent serious violence or the commission of offences. It enables officers to stop and search any person or vehicle in a specified area for weapons to prevent serious violence. This is the first time we have used this power in three years, and it often requires exceptional circumstances for authorisation. We are willing to use all the powers at our disposal to tackle knife crime.

When you refer to “undercover spot checks”, are you referring to warrants at a person’s home address? In which case we cannot just raid addresses at random based on no evidence. Warrants require information, which we get from members of the public, as well as our own knowledge. We then have to apply for a warrant at court. This is not a short process, and we cannot just walk into someone’s house and conduct a ‘raid’ based on the fact that they have been arrested with a knife in the past.


Jen66: The policy referred to is a national one, it applies to all forces and we cannot change it ourselves. It is based on the level of risk that a pursuit carries and whether or not it is proportionate to the crime which has been committed.

Pursuing a moped carries a great level of risk to the riders, to the police pursuing them and also to innocent members of the public who might be affected by it. If the rider should crash and be fatally injured, or fatally injure someone else, then the responsibility lies with the police for engaging them in a pursuit. That is what the policy states. Even the select few drivers who have the specialist training to pursue mopeds may not be allowed to do so if the conditions are not deemed to be safe enough. A pursuit is continuously monitored from a control room and they assess the situation based on risk factors. If they feel that the public, the riders and the officers will be at significant risk of harm if the pursuit is allowed to continue, they will instruct the officers to end the pursuit.


SouthLondonDaddy: You have summed up exactly the difficulties that we face in relation to mopeds and the risk assessment surrounding a pursuit. We need to do what we can to safeguard innocent bystanders and the officers involved. We also have a responsibility to think about the risk of injury to the moped riders themselves. It is frustrating, but we are doing all we can to tackle the issue in whatever way we can.


NVHusband: The advertising campaign is one we are using across whole of London. It aims to reduce the risk of becoming a victim of crime by taking simple steps to protect your property and your vehicle. It is not related to officer numbers, as it was put together by our media and communications department. We try to deploy local officers on patrol where possible, but as you rightly pointed out, our resources are extremely limited.

We are as frustrated as you by the fact that these incidents keep happening. However, as pointed out above, the risk levels regarding mopeds are so high that we cannot engage in a pursuit with them unless the driver is specifically trained to do so. Even then the conditions (such as a high volume of traffic on the roads, or a large number of pedestrians who could be endangered by the driving standards of the moped rider) may be such that the pursuit is terminate from the control room.

Just because officers are not visible on every street corner, it does not mean that they are not there and not working to safeguard the residents of this borough.


MrsOctober: Unfortunately our phone operators are very stretched, so thank you for promoting the 999 text service. We appreciate you using this to make us aware of local incidents.


Daddydaycarerocks: We’re sorry that you feel nothing is ever done with crime reports. But when we attend to take a report we have to take into account the likelihood of solving a crime. The chances of doing so depend on CCTV, forensic opportunities and eyewitnesses. Without that our options are limited.
If you are concerned about drivers on their mobile phones, log this with us on the Voice Your Concerns Poll on our website in relation to your area. We use the feedback from this to directly inform the ward priorities, and they are discussed at the ward panel meetings.


tomandbobby: We’re sorry that you had a negative experience with the operator and the officers you spoke to, but we do not blame victims of crime. We are encouraging members of the public to take a few simple steps to safeguard their belongings in order to make them less likely to become victims of crime.


AlexaH11: Yes, the phone lines are very stretched, and unfortunately people are often being kept on hold on 101, and sometimes on 999 too. The operators do all they can, but they are as stretched with resources as we are. Please do sign up to the 999 text service, and don’t be discouraged from calling us to report any incidents you witness.

Having reported on several occasions, after thinking the car was locked, seeing it had been entered and torn apart inside overnight, i don't bother anymore. Even with the thieves on camera, we watch the footage open mouthed, it seems that nothing can be done.

Personally, with the spate of muggings taking place, I rarely carry a handbag now. I tend to stuff things into pockets.if I need a smarter appearance, I've a little pouch containing tissues, a few wipes, lip cream, a mirror etc (see where my priorities are?!) which I can grab and then put in a debit card and a coin purse if I need them. I keep my house key separate now to my car key so if one of them is lost or stolen, it's less distressing. If my pouch was snatched, I have immediate other financial resources and less exposure to fraud. I've had a wallet stolen now twice and an entire handbag and it's horribly inconvenient.
Just a few changes to the way we do things, which might sound bothersome, can make all the difference to the outcome of being the victim at the hands of these low life scum.

This is all very concerning. I have witnessed two moped thefts recently; one on Clapham Common and one in Balham, near the Grove pub. Both times I called 101 and both times I was kept on hold for nearly 20 minutes before I could speak to someone. By which time, the thieves were obviously long gone. Hopeless!

The 999 text service sounds more efficient though. I will sign up to that!