Dear All,
I have reviewed the crime report mentioned above by ghpilates.
The report was closed because at this time there are no further lines of enquiry. Having read the report, the investigating officer states that there are no forensic opportunities and no CCTV footage. These are critical components to investigating a crime successfully, especially in circumstances such as these where the suspects are not known to the victims.
It is true that the investigating officer wrote in the crime report that no statements were taken from those at the scene at the time of reporting. However I feel it is worth clarifying here what may be a point of confusion: when you give a verbal account of an incident to police, that is not a statement. We take written statements from witnesses, where we ask for their account of an incident, take notes, and then write down an official statement on their behalf. The witness reviews this, confirms they are happy with the account we have taken on their behalf, and then signs the statement. If this did not take place when reporting then a statement was not officially taken at the time.
It is frustrating for police as well as victims when reports have to be closed unsolved, but this does not mean that a lead will not come up in future. Whenever new information comes to light which may lead to the identification and arrest of those responsible, we look into reopening and reinvestigating reports which were previously closed. So just because a report is closed for now, it does not mean that it could not be reopened later on down the line. For example, we often recover stolen property which, if identified, can be reunited with the rightful owner. In these cases it is vital that we have the full details of any items stolen, such as the watch in this report. With details such as the brand name, colour, specific model, value and serial number of the watch logged on the crime report, we may one day be able to trace it back to its lawful owner if recovered.
We are aware that there have been several robberies of valuable watches in the SW11 area recently. We do all we can to investigate these incidents, and the local neighbourhood teams are also aware, and will monitor the area during their patrols.
If you would like to speak to the local ward officers about your concerns and ask for crime prevention advice in the Northcote area, you can email them at
SouthWestSWMailbox-.SNTNorthcote@met.police.uk
Regards,
PC Sophie Argent
Media & Communications Team
Wandsworth Police