Kings Cross Environment

Caledonian Safer Neighbourhoods Team

Message from Sergeant Dave Wiggins

We patrol and carry out initiatives across Caledonian Ward. If you have any concerns about crime or anti-social behaviour please do not hesitate to contact us. Safer Neighbourhoods Teams are a fundamental aspect to our policing. Your team has worked closely within the community to ensure that local concerns are addressed. Police working on your ward priorities are key to making Islington a safer place and crime has reduced consistently over the past 5 years.

Your Ward Priorities

Currently your ward priorities are:
 
1. Anti-social behaviour by groups of youths on the Bemerton Estate
2. Pedal cycling on the pavement
3. Prostitute cards in phone boxes
 
Your ward priorities are reviewed regularly. If you have any information relating to these priorities or would like to discuss your concerns please contact us.

You can also come along to the next meeting of the Safer Neighbourhoods Community Panel, chaired by our local Councillor Paul Convery.  This panel meets about every six to eight weeks with the Safer Neighbourhoods Team and local residents to discuss local issues.  If you have a local problem this is an excellent place to raise it.  The next meeting will be taking place at the Blessed Sacrament Church (basement hall), on Thursday 28 May at 7 PM.

Community Safety Day at NIDO Student Halls

At the beginning of the spring term, officers from Caledonian Safer Neighbourhoods team, in partnership with the NIDO management team, held a community safety event at the NIDO building on Pentonville Road, N1. The building is a residence for mainly foreign students studying in London. The students had only recently arrived in London to start courses at various colleges and universities. The concerns of the students were the perception of crime and safety in Islington. Police Constable Mark Davis spoke to around 250 students, allaying their fears by explaining that crime on the ward and in Islington Borough as a whole has reduced dramatically. The students were also given crime prevention literature and personal attack alarms. 
 
Alert Box Scheme Cuts Crime

Caledonian Safer Neighbourhoods team in partnership with Islington Council have funded and installed an extension to the successful Alertbox scheme in Caledonian Road. The scheme now runs between Frodo Bridge and Pentonville Road and has been taken up by 110 local businesses. The scheme helps small shops that do not have their own security staff and encourages closer ties between local businesses.

At the mere touch of a button, shops can tell neighbouring businesses that they are in need of assistance and can help each other by calling police if needed. It also acts as a deterrent to potential thieves and gives added reassurance to businesses and shoppers alike.

The scheme has been in operation since April 2008. An evaluation of its success was conducted and showed that on average local traders felt it was both supportive and reassuring and there was a marked decrease in crime.

 Don’t let a burglar spoil your summer. Be secure!

As summer approaches the evenings can be an inviting time for criminals. It is important to take sensible steps to reduce the risk of becoming a victim of burglary. Many burglaries happen in the summer Scheme when thieves simply enter homes through OPEN doors and windows. As the warmer nights arrive it is important to remember that an open window may allow more to enter your home than a cooling breeze.

It is unwise to leave any accessible window open unless you are in that room and fully awake. Think about buying a fan or, if you must leave a window open, consider installing an internal collapsible locking grille. Before you go to bed check that all accessible windows upstairs and downstairs are securely closed and locked. This includes small fanlight windows. It’s an open invitation to a burglar. Make sure that even when you are sitting watching TV your back door is properly closed and locked. If you have a UPVC front door check that all the locks are in place by lifting the handle. Once you have done so, lock the locks into place by turning the key. Know where the keys are at all times in case you need to leave in an emergency. For more detailed crime prevention advice please visit our website – www.met.police.uk.

London Borough of Islington Caledonian Team
 Telephone: (020) 7421-0271
Caledonian.SNT@met.police.uk

www.met.police.uk/saferneighbourhoods

For more information about Islington Police go to www.met.police.uk/islington.

Local police and the Council have taken an important palliative measure to combat low level anti social behaviour. Neighbour Lisa Tang has alerted me to the new 'dispersal zone' map.  This gives police stringent powers to stop people, especially young people hanging about in large groups. 

The area covered is in the graphic left but basically East of York Way, South of Bingfield Street, South of Richmond Avenue, West of Barnsbury Road, North of Copenhagen Street and North of Regents Canal.

Dispersal zones are handy to deal with a chronic problem in the area – large groups of young people who can get out of hand.  Having had bricks thrown at me from very close range by groups of young people in the past i sympathise with the folk who live here – if they still taught cricket in schools i wouldn't be alive today.  It is important to deal with.  But dispersal zones are only palliative – they treat the symptoms of a wider problem – the lack of a structured, long term intervention by the Council in the area to give young people things to do in a deprived neighbourhood. 

Local charitable groups such as CYP, Sparkplug, Prospex and Crumbles Castle plug huge gaps left by inadequate Council services.  But they only get month to month funding inhibiting their long term growth and stability.  The real long term answer to combat issues with local young people is long term core funding by the council of local youth groups to provide high capacity interventions to give large numbers of young people other options than hanging about on street corners.

Text extracts from text of dispersal order follows: