Robberies in the Area - EVERYONE SHOULD BE AWARE

Rebwright

Thats what I like to read - some good old fashioned policing with the aid of the public to help catch them. I wouldn't have any hesitation in intercepting (with common sense of course).

I tool feel very proud to live in our area - its one of the safest places to live in London and within the top 20 in the country. Lets keep it this way....if in doubt, report it.

I was in Kingston at the weekend doing some Christmas shopping and witnessed the Police chasing a young boy - not sure what he'd done but as he gave chase the policeman shouted 'somebody stop him'. Anyway, within seconds a brave shopper quickly stopped him and the criminal was taken away. This interception wouldn't happen anywhere as many people would not want to get involved, it made me quite proud to live in the Borough, I can tell you.

We, unfortunately, had one of these offenses happen in our shop, I wasn't in the shop at the time, but a group of four ladies managed to steal a purse from an elderly lady's bag and make off with a considerable sum of money. Police are reviewing CCTV in and around the time of the incident. Furthermore, our neighbours house was burgled the week before, and I know of another incident where burglars were interrupted by someone returning from work. In the instance of the lady in our shop, it is everyone being aware of the people most vulnerable to attack. A deterent could be the use of Beverley Bells, a set of bells attached to the purse or bag that jangle when the bag is disrupted. They are available from the police station at CI Tower, I knwo that the last batch were part funded by Waitrose and Tudor Williams and that the police really only want to supply them to the people most at risk, but if you know someone who could benefit from them I would advise them to go down there, whilst stocks last. In relation to the break ins in peoples homes it is the right time to review your security, have you got the right window locks, door locks or alarm and what do you do when you leave your home to deter people looking into and around your home. I would be very interested if anyone knows of websites/services in the area that can help with this.

Thank you nsmith5266 for letting us know how these robberies are affecting our community. It really is a disgrace that people are being robbed and burgled right on our doorstep.

Especially as Christmas is here, there's no better time to keep an eye out for our neighbours' and personal property. We'll happily publish tips - did you read the article about the Beverly Bell? It was an initiative by our local Police to attach bells to our wallets and purses to alert us if we get pick pocketed.