Wandle Valley Safer Neighbourhood Team

This morning on Spencer Road Allotment, another committee member, the Site Rep and I met with  PC Joe Keogh I 119 ZT from the Sutton Police Station | Wandle Valley Safer Neighbourhood Team. We also introduced the PC to one of the plot holders who was on site whos shed was attacked.  

This visit was a direct result of reporting the break-ins and the CCTV footage obtained of two individuals who were observed jumping over the fence, entering the allotment and on seeing that they were being observed climbed back out using a tree up against the fence, and scarpered on a motorcycle, whos number plate was recorded.

It transpired that "The two males were not recognised locally by officers. Unfortunately the VRM provided came back to a Toyota Yaris, which is not the vehicle in the CCTV"

The Police are also no longer permitted to chase offenders on motorcycles especially if they are not wearing a helmet, indeed some take their helmets off because of the ruling see here 

Following our meeting PC Joe Keogh was kind enough to send an email of guidance notes for me to share with the plot holders on how we should report any future break-ins as the route we had been previously been informed to take by the council to contact the Parks Police has been altered.

Hi Alan, in response to our conversation today, please find the following guidance when reporting incidents to police.

• If an offence IS BEING committed on your allotment, please report it on 999.
• If an offence HAS BEEN committed on your allotment, please report it on 101.
• All offences should be reported as soon as possible. This maximises the window for evidence to be gained.
• Any items which have been interfered with should remain untouched. Clean smooth/shiny surfaces are the best to obtain fingerprints from. Please keep these items to one side and preserve if possible by covering the item.

Again as spoken about earlier, If you notice another plot holders shed has been broken into, inform them and advise them to report it. They should attend the plot to establish what has been taken/damaged if anything. Also, please email me so we are aware. If the plot holder decides not to report it then at least we will know about it. 

There are no right or wrong answers when it comes to security, it's all personal preference and what works for one person or area may not necessarily work for another. But I would say the more measures that are put in place the better. I have attached some official guidance for you to disseminate to other plot holders.

In addition to the above, your closed Spencer Road Allotment Facebook group is ideal for providing all plot holders with information on incidents. The more people who are aware and are informed, the more vigilance they will have.

It may be worth floating the idea among your members of installing some type of deterrent. CCTV cameras or Motion Censor lights are great and can be picked up at a decent price on Amazon / Ebay. If everyone clumped together, the cheaper it will be.

For obvious reasons, do not install these at low level/on sheds as they can be easily removed.

Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any further questions.

Kind Regards,

Joe
PC Joe Keogh I 119 ZT Sutton Police Station | Wandle Valley Safer Neighbourhood Team

Obviously the committee would request that if you are a target of a break-in that after phoning 101 to arrange for an officer to visit and take details, your second telephone call should be to a committee member so that an alert can be sent to all plot holders who have provided their email addresses.