Edward Road Area Neighbourhood Watch – Winter Newsletter 2011

---

Autumn/Winter 2011           ERA Newsletter                Issue 4

At long last!

After years of waiting we finally have a short, easy-to-remember police non-emergency telephone number – 101. Police operators were overwhelmed by the volume of non-urgent calls being made to the 999 emergency number when   less than a quarter were actually emergencies. The old 11-digit non-emergency number was cumbersome and not easy to remember. For all non-emergency calls to the police just dial 101

Stop Hate UK

As we move towards the season of peace and goodwill to all people sadly there’s still a lot of hate about. Waltham Forest is now signed up to Stop Hate UK, a charitable campaign promoting hate-crime reporting. If you or anyone you know has been a victim of a hate-crime or you just want more information about the service, please visit: www.stophateuk.org or call 0800 138 1625.

Tricks of the trade

At least one elderly neighbour has been targeted by a bogus caller recently. All residents should be extremely cautious about uninvited callers but please keep an eye out for elderly neighbours who may be particularly vulnerable. Never let anyone into your home without first checking their proof of identity. Talk to callers through a closed door if necessary or with the door on a security chain. Tell callers that you won’t let them in until you’ve called their company to check them out. If still in doubt, call the police emergency number 999

Cabwise

Taking an unlicensed minicab can put you at risk – and you’re not insured. Simply text the word CAB to 60835 and have the numbers of one taxi and two local licensed minicab numbers that serve the area you’re texting from, sent directly to your mobile. See www.tfl.gov.uk/cabwise for further details. Minicabs booked this way will be licensed.

Bin it

After representations from ERA the council has installed a new litterbin outside Umit Wines on Blackhorse Road (junction with Lloyd Road) where littering (an enviro-crime) has been a problem for a long time. Now it’s in place, please use it – and if you have kids walking to local schools please encourage them to use it, and other bins in the area, too. Most kids are responsive to environmental issues once they’re aware of them so, adults, please set them a good example.

A vote of thanks

At the High Street Ward SNT Police Panel meeting held on 31 August in the Mall shopping centre a vote of thanks to the Borough Commander and the Safer Neighbourhood Teams (SNTs) in Waltham Forest for their actions during the disturbances in Walthamstow on Sunday 7 August was passed unanimously. 15 retail premises on the High Street were broken into and looted but no residential properties were affected, no fires were set and there was no rioting. Sgt Lee McKean of High Street SNT was Acting Inspector during the disturbances and it was his team which cleared BHS and The Mall of intruders and looters. Sgt McKean told the meeting that, compared to other areas of London of which he had had direct experience during the disturbances, Walthamstow’s events were by far the least violent. Sgt McKean also spoke highly of the work of the Respite Centre which was set up by volunteers at St Mary’s Welcome Centre in Walthamstow Village to provide officers, some of whom worked a 100-hour shift over the disturbances, a welcome break, a cup of tea and something to eat. Sgt McKean said that as far as he was aware this facility was unique in London and he and his officers were very grateful to the organisers for it. He added that Waltham Forest was doing remarkably well in terms of crime reduction. Despite the disturbances total Notifiable Offences (TNOs) in the borough were down 7% and the High Street Team had continued to tackle major crime which, even after all the recent events, was still down by half a percentage point.

ERA Neighbourhood Watch Meeting

The next ERA meeting will be held on Tuesday 6 December, 6-8pm at The Mill, 7-11 Coppermill Lane, Walthamstow. All residents of Edward, Hawarden, Lloyd, Cornwallis, Courtenay Roads and west side of Blackhorse Road are welcome.

Meet the Team

High Street Ward Safer Neighbourhood Team (SNT) polices our local community. Their contact details are listed in the next column and these are the current members of the Team:

Sgt Lee McKean 5 JC
PC Andy Boxer 765 JC
PC Saheed Khan 168 JC
PC Maria McGowan 207 JC
PC Wendy Rankin 961 JC
PC Charlie Shyngle 753 JC
PCSO Jaz Alangh 7206 JC
PCSO Aynur Badreldin 7129 JC
PCSO Paul Doe 7104 JC
PCSO Dennis Morgan 7101 JC
PCSO Joy Wacha 7113 JC

On yer bike (but not on pavements please)

We’ve been asked about cycling on pavements (technically footways). Put simply, it is against the law (dating back to 1835) and our advice would always be ‘don’t do it’, but application of this law is not as straightforward as it might appear. If you want more information visit the Bikehub website: www.bikehub.co.uk and see ‘Cycling and the law’.

Christmas is a-coming

Don’t risk losing your Christmas presents to burglars. Leaving empty boxes from all your wonderful new electrical appliances on show in your front garden is a gift to thieves and advertises to the world exactly what you’ve got to nick. Also, don’t leave presents piled up under the tree by a window for all to see. Christmas is a time for sharing – but not with burglars!

One for the road?

Many of us enjoy a drink at Christmas but if you’re driving, please don’t. We love to see our relatives over the festive season but not in a hospital bed – or worse! See Drinkaware: www.drinkaware.co.uk

Squatters or trespassers?

There has been some concern about homes in Walthamstow being broken into and occupied while their owners are away. It is a criminal offence under section 7 of the Criminal Law Act 1977 for any person who is on residential premises as a trespasser after having entered as such to fail to leave those premises on being required to do so by or on behalf of “a displaced residential occupier” or “a protected intending occupier” of the premises. If you fall victim to this illegal activity, call 999.

Free tamper-proof number plate screws

A Motor Vehicle Crime Event will be held in Sainsbury’s car park, Walthamstow Avenue E4 on Friday 9 December, 12noon-4pm.

And finally…

This is the last ERA Newsletter but, fear not, ERA Neighbourhood Watch continues and will remain in touch with its 800+ homes through regular leafletting, meetings at The Mill community centre and via the Blackhorse Action Group website: www.blackhorseactiongroup.org.uk  The quarterly newsletter was made possible for one year only with a grant from the last Walthamstow West Community Council. Many thanks to all our readers for their support over the past year.

Useful telephone numbers & email addresses

Emergency services (police, fire, ambulance): 999

Non-emergency police: 101

Crimestoppers (call anonymously with information about a crime) 0800 555 111

High Street SNT: 020 8721 2035 / 07843 291 115

HighStreet.snt@met.police.uk

Safer Transport Team: 07825 386 775.

STT.WalthamForest@met.police.uk

Hate Crime Reporting:

Police Community Safety Unit 101

Stop Hate UK 0800 138 1625

Council Hate Crime Reduction Co-ordinator – Dianne Andrews 020 8496 6839

Dianne.Andrews@walthamforest.gov.uk

Council / W F Direct: 020 8496 3000

wfdirect@walthamforest.gov.uk

Council Dog Wardens (lost and found dogs):

020 8496 2225

High Street Ward Councillors

Cllr Liaquat Ali (Labour): 020 8496 4841  cllr.liaquat.ali@walthamforest.gov.uk

Cllr Clare Coghill (Labour): 020 8496 4718 / 07725 528 625 cllr.clare.coghill@walthamforest.gov.uk

Cllr Mahmood Hussain (Lib Dem): 07956 400 834

cllr.mahmood.hussain@walthamforest.gov.uk

Member of Parliament

Dr Stella Creasy MP (Labour)

House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA
020 7219 3000 stella.creasy.mp@parliament.uk

Walthamstow Labour Party, 23 Orford Road, Walthamstow, London E17 9NL 020 8520 6586
stella@workingforwalthamstow.org.uk

London Assembly Member

Jennette Arnold OBE AM (Labour)

City Hall, The Queen’s Walk, London SE1 2AA

020 7983 4349 jennette.arnold@london.gov.uk

Neighbourhood Link – community messaging service

www.neighbourhoodlink.met.police.uk/registration/

Blackhorse Action Group (BAG)

www.blackhorseactiongroup.org.uk

Edward Road Area (ERA) Neighbourhood Watch: Co-ordinator – Tim 07979 263 854