Crime down in Southfields

Yesterday I attended the panel meeting of the Southfields safer neighbourhoods police team. The meeting, held at Southfields Community College, was presented with some encouragingly low crime figures for the ward.

In the first three months of 2008 burglaries are down a whopping 38% compared to the same period in 2007; the number of drug offences is down by 22% and violence against the person is down 13%. Throughout Southfields there were fewer than 300 crimes during this period, a 5% fall compared to 2007 and one of the reasons why one member of the public present described Southfields as "a really safe ward to live in".

We should not allow complacency to creep up on us, but this is a encouraging set of figures and Sgt Mepham and his team and the local neighbourhood watches should be congratulated on their good work. However, I know that some people do not always report when they are a victim of crime, especially if they think it is a supposedly minor incident (e.g. damage to a vehicle). It really is important that ALL crimes get reported so the police can direct resources as necessary.

The meeting also confirmed the priorities for the Southfields SNT for the next three months, which will be:

• dangerous dogs
• problems with some school aged children
• safety in King George's park

If you wish to contact the Southfields SNT then you can do so by emailing southfields.snt@met.police.uk or call them on 020 8247 8760.