LOCAL POLICE PRIORITIES ASSESSED

Sutton police station in Carshalton Road

Sutton police station in Carshalton Road

On 12 July Trish and Richard attended the police consultative group meeting for Sutton South Ward, held in the church hall at Christchurch. It is a pity these public meetings attract so few members of the public, only four tonight. The police priorities for the next quarter will include seeking Neighbourhood Watch co-ordinators at Farm Close and Audley Place, and tackling the problem of rough sleepers in Ambleside Gardens and Beauclere House, in Brighton Road. There was also discussion of the theft of bins at blocks of flats in Brighton Road and in Christchurch Park. The overall level of crime in the area remains low.

The police are very keen to monitor any community tensions that might have arisen as a result of the EU referendum. Emotions may run high for a while and there have been some reports in the national media about a rise in hate crime and harassment in some areas. We have not heard of any such incidents locally; but obviously the police rely very much upon the community and the Neighbourhood Watch to monitor things like this for them.

If you have detected any such issues – or know of anyone who has – please do not hesitate to contact Sutton police to report them.

If anyone wishes to make an anonymous report they can always call Crimestoppers at any time – day or night – on 0800 555 111, in complete confidence.

eid celebrations

On 6 July Richard, by invitation, attended the Eid celebrations held annually in Overton Park (see picture above) at the end of Ramadan, to show his support for multculturalism and opposition to hate crime.

Cllr Ruth Dombey, Leader of Sutton Council, Niall Bolger, Chief Executive of Sutton Council, Cllr Tim Crowley, Leader of the Opposition at Sutton Council, and Sutton Borough Police Commander Dave Stringer said in a joint statement on 30 June:

“Since the EU referendum result there have been media reports of hate crimes against people living in this country. However, there has been no increase in hate crime incidents reported to the police in Sutton and across London.

“We are grateful that Sutton has not seen an increase in such intolerant and antisocial behaviour. The vote is not a licence for racist and xenophobic behaviour. We would urge residents to be vigilant to ensure that all borough citizens continue to live together in a peaceful, harmonious and responsible way.

“We are aware that certain events can spur intolerance, hate or extremism. Anyone who witnesses or suffers any hate incident of any type should report it immediately to the Police so that they can take action and deal with any incidents quickly.

“Sutton is a popular place to live, in part because we are a tolerant, open society that values people of all cultures, nationalities and religions. At this time it is more important than ever that we show solidarity with our neighbours of all different faith and cultural groups to ensure that extremist views and behaviour have no part of our community.”

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